Uganda: The largest Ebola outbreak ever recorded brought under control quickly and effectively
In Uganda, rapid alert, immediate response and effective coordination in the field, supported with comprehensive logistics support, were the key features in the control the largest Ebola outbreak ever recorded. The first report of suspected haemorrhagic fever in Uganda was actively detected and verified by WHO.
An international team was brought together under WHO coordination to assist the Ugandan Government. Over 400 Ebola cases were isolated and treated and 6 000 contacts tracked over a 30 000 sq. km area affected by ongoing conflict. In addition, a high security field laboratory was established for the first time in an Ebola response by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, United States.
There was sustained follow-up to the initial containment of the outbreak. A permanent isolation ward established in Gulu, Uganda and a community-based early warning surveillance and response system for priority infectious diseases was implemented in June 2001. As a result, a new focus of 3 suspected cases of haemorrhagic fever was detected within three days, patients isolated and specimens tested negative at the National Institute for Virology, South Africa.
See the reports in Disease Outbreak News,the Weekly Epidemiological Record and Eurosurveillance for more details.