NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 31 – The World Health Organization (WHO) says it is mobilizing efforts to support national health authorities in swiftly containing and ending the outbreak of the Sudan virus disease in Uganda.
The Sudan virus disease,which belongs to the same family s Ebola is a severe, often fatal illness affecting humans and other primates.
Scientists trace the virus to a viral species belonging to the same genus as the virus that causes Ebola virus disease, assigned the scientific name Orthoebolavirus sudanense.
WHO Regional Director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti said the world health agency has allocated US$1 million from its Contingency Fund for Emergencies to help accelerate early action.
The organization is also preparing to deliver medical supplies, including personal protective equipment, to Uganda from its Emergency Response Hub in Nairobi.
WHO is also deploying senior public health experts and mobilizing staff from the country office to support key outbreak response measures.
“While there are no licensed vaccines for Sudan virus disease, WHO is coordinating with developers to deploy candidate vaccines as an addition to other public health measures. The vaccines will be deployed once all administrative and regulatory approvals are obtained,” WHO said on Friday.
Moeti said WHO welcomes the prompt declaration of the outbreak, stating they are supporting the government and partners to scale up measures to quickly identify cases, isolate and provide care, curb the spread of the virus, and protect the population.
Rapid response
She added that the identification of the case in a densely populated urban area requires a rapid and intense response.
“Uganda’s robust expertise in responding to public health emergencies will be crucial in ending this outbreak effectively,” Moeti said.
The agency announced the response even as Uganda’s Ministry of Health had reported that a nurse from Mulago National Referral Hospital in the capital, Kampala, died from Ebola on Thursday.
WHO says no other health workers or patients have shown symptoms of the disease.
A total of 45 contacts, including health workers and family members of the confirmed case (deceased), have been identified and are currently under close monitoring.
The health agency reports that there have been eight previous outbreaks of Sudan virus disease, with five occurring in Uganda and three in Sudan. Uganda last reported an outbreak of Sudan virus disease in 2022.
Sudan virus disease cae fatality rates have varied from 41 per cent to 100 per cent in past outbreaks.
There are no approved treatments or vaccines for Sudan virus with early initiation of supportive treatment shown to significantly reduce deaths from Sudan virus disease.
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