Uganda: Health Ministry to conduct ring vaccination after confirming Ebola outbreak

The Ministry of Health is set to carry out ring vaccination on all people believed to have come into contact with a confirmed Ebola case in Kasese district.

The vaccination is scheduled to start on Thursday June 14, 2019.

It will cover all persons suspected to have come into contact with a five-year-old boy, who tested positive to Ebola on Tuesday June 11.

Ring vaccination is a strategy to inhibit the spread of a disease by vaccinating only those who are most likely to be infected.

This is the first case confirmed in the country amid a deadly outbreak in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.

More than 2,000 cases have been recorded there in the last 10 months – most of which have been fatal.

The boy is said to have travelled across the border with his family from DR Congo on Sunday.

He was then taken to a Ugandan hospital after exhibiting symptoms including vomiting blood, officials said.

The diagnosis of Ebola was then confirmed by the Uganda Virus Institute (UVRI) on Tuesday before being announced by officials.

The country’s health ministry and WHO say they have dispatched a rapid response team to identify others at risk, a joint statement said.

Ugandan Health Minister Jane Ruth Aceng told a news conference on Tuesday that the boy’s family members are being monitored, including two who have exhibited Ebola-like symptoms.

Uganda has already vaccinated about 4,700 health workers against the disease, the joint statement by WHO and Ugandan health officials said.

Additional information from BBC