Uganda Declares Last Ebola Patient Recovered, DRC Cases Continue

Uganda’s government announced on July 16 that the last Ebola patient in the country successfully recovered and was discharged. The patient is a citizen of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Uganda declared an Ebola outbreak with the DRC in May and will be able to declare the outbreak over if no new cases are confirmed for 42 days, following World Health Organization guidelines.

The country reported a total of 20 confirmed cases, with 15 originating from individuals crossing the border from the DRC and the remaining five being Ugandan healthcare workers who treated them. Two patients died from the virus, while the remaining 18, including the recently discharged patient, have fully recovered.

While Uganda sees positive progress, the DRC continues to experience an ongoing Ebola surge with over 2,000 confirmed cases and more than 700 deaths in the past two months. Ugandan health officials urge anyone experiencing symptoms like fever, vomiting, diarrhea, or unexplained bleeding to seek immediate medical attention.