Uganda Reports Two New Ebola Cases; DRC Surpasses 900 Suspected Infections

Ugandan health authorities reported two new Ebola cases Monday, bringing the number of infections there to seven after the number of suspected cases in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo surpassed 900. All the cases are linked to the Congo outbreak, which appears to have started several days or weeks before authorities in that country declared the outbreak on May 15.

A 59-year-old Congolese man was admitted to a hospital in Kampala, the Ugandan capital, on May 11 and died three days later. Two other Congolese nationals who sought medical care in Uganda later tested positive for Ebola. Ugandan health authorities confirmed the first local infections: a driver and a health worker exposed to the Congolese patient who died on May 11.

Two more health workers at a private hospital in Kampala have tested positive, the Ministry of Health said Monday. In the Congo, suspected Ebola cases have topped 900, mainly in the eastern Ituri province, where the ongoing outbreak is centered, authorities said Sunday. Confirmed cases are now over 100.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. The Bundibugyo type of Ebola virus responsible for the outbreak has no approved vaccine or treatment, though scientists from the University of Oxford are working on a vaccine that could begin clinical trials in “two to three months.”

Angry young men stormed a hospital treating Ebola patients in eastern Congo on Sunday evening, forcing medical staff to scramble to evacuate the patients as gunfire rang out in the area. It was not immediately known if anyone was hurt in the attack on the Mongbwalu General Hospital.

The attack – the third in a week’s time on healthcare facilities where medical workers struggle with a lack of resources to treat suspected Ebola cases – underlined the challenges of the outbreak. Congolese authorities have mandated that the dangerous work of burying suspected victims be managed wherever possible by authorities, which can be met by protests from families and friends.

On Friday, the government said funeral wakes and gatherings of more than 50 people would be banned in northeastern Congo in an effort to curb the spread of the virus. On Saturday, a group of residents of Mongbwalu attacked and set fire to a tent set up for suspected and confirmed Ebola cases by Doctors Without Borders.

Earlier on Sunday, the Congolese Ministry of Communication said the total suspected Ebola deaths stood at 119, but the numbers it released separately for each region added up to 220. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said Saturday that three of its volunteers had died from the outbreak in Mongbwalu.

If confirmed, this would significantly push back the timeline of the outbreak.