During a visit to Uganda, the Director-General of the World Health Organization praised the country's efforts in the face of the Ebola epidemic on Monday.
Uganda has recorded 19 cases and two deaths. All but five were Congolese nationals who had crossed the border. This represents a case fatality rate of 1%, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted with satisfaction, describing the situation as "under control."
"The system has shown great vigilance in detecting cases, and there are now 19 in total, including 15 imported cases and four, I believe, originating from Uganda who had contact with them. So we are pleased to see this. I think the situation is under control, as we can see, and Uganda should continue on this path," said the WHO Director-General.
The WHO played its part in the fight against the spread of the virus in the country, notably by supporting the training of 148 agents in the battle against Ebola. At the local level, health authorities are presenting the treatment system that has been put in place.
"The number of people [health personnel] we will need is a moving target, but we know we will send groups of 40 teams at a time, as that is the number that can be deployed at once, and we expect Uganda to set up around four treatment units. We have already set up two laboratories along the border, one in Mpondwe and the other in Arua, to facilitate testing on both sides of the border," explains Daniel Kyabayinze, Director of Public Health at the Ugandan Ministry of Health.
The WHO and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention launched a $518 million plan on Friday to combat the Ebola epidemic over the next six months.
