Uganda’s Ministry of Health has confirmed all persons who were in contact with Kenya’s first Ebola case have been released after spending 21 days in quarantine.
Speaking during a press briefing on Sunday, October 25, Uganda’s Minister of Health Dr Chris Baryomunsi announced that all 60 contacts had completed monitoring without testing positive for Ebola.
“The Ministry of Health wishes to announce that all 60 contacts which we listed, identified and monitored in Uganda, in connection with the recent Kenyan traveler's Ebola virus disease case, have completed their 21-day follow-up period and have been discharged," stated Dr Baryomunsi.
None of the 60 people developed symptoms associated with the disease during the mandatory monitoring period, easing concerns over possible transmission linked to Kenya’s imported case.
Uganda's Minister of Health, Dr Chris Baryomunsi, during a UNDP address.
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Dr Chris Baryomunsi
The contacts were identified after Uganda received information that the Kenyan national diagnosed with Ebola had travelled through the country before the infection was reported from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Uganda’s Ministry of Health reconstructed the traveller’s movements to establish where the individual had been and identify people who might have been exposed to the virus.
According to Dr Baryomunsi, the contact-tracing exercise covered personnel at relevant points of entry and exit, hotel staff and transport operators who had interacted with the traveller during the journey.
“Our teams traced and followed up individuals across the different settings identified during the investigation. These included personnel at relevant points of entry and exit, the staff at identified hotels, and transport operators involved in the travellers' movements,” he added.
After tracing all 60 contacts, health teams monitored the identified individuals throughout the 21-day period, checking for symptoms and following up on their condition as part of Uganda’s precautionary response.
The announcement comes amid regional efforts to contain Ebola outbreaks and limit cross-border transmission, with authorities closely monitoring movement between affected and neighbouring countries.
Uganda has consistently maintained that it is Ebola-Free, with the Ministry stressing that the country has no active Ebola cases.
Notably, Uganda and Nigeria have been disputing the source of Nigeria’s first Ebola case in over a decade, confirmed in Abuja on October 20, amid conflicting accounts of the patient’s travel history. The patient, linked to a Nigerian diplomat, was found to be positive for the virus, having travelled from Uganda, a high-risk region.
That said, Dr Baryomunsi has pledged to work with the governments of Kenya and DRC to further suppress the virus, further warning of serious consequences on DRC citizens sneaking into Uganda using unverified channels, including treatment at personal cost once found with the disease in Uganda.
A panoramic view of a representation of the Ebola Virus.
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NFID