The health ministry in Uganda announced the country’s first fatality from Ebola virus since 2019, declaring an outbreak in the central district of Mubende.

The World Health Organization confirmed this in a statement on Tuesday, WHO said  a 24-year-old man in Mubende had tested positive for “the relatively rare Sudan strain” of the virus.

“This is the first time in more than a decade that Uganda is recording an outbreak of Sudan ebolavirus. We are working closely with the national health authorities to investigate the source of this outbreak while supporting the efforts to quickly roll out effective control measures,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa.

“Uganda is no stranger to effective Ebola control. Thanks to its expertise, action has been taken to quickly to detect the virus and we can bank on this knowledge to halt the spread of infections.

“Uganda — which shares a porous border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) — has experienced several Ebola outbreaks in the past, most recently in 2019, when at least five people died.

“Ebola is an often fatal viral haemorrhagic fever. The death rate is typically high, ranging up to 90 percent in some outbreaks, according to the WHO.

“People who are infected do not become contagious until symptoms appear, which is after an incubation period of between two and 21 days.

“At present there is no licenced medication to prevent or treat Ebola, although a range of experimental drugs are in development and thousands have been vaccinated in the DRC and some neighbouring countries.”