Uganda Declares End of Ebola Outbreak Amid WHO Backing
Uganda's health minister declared the country Ebola-free on Tuesday, marking the end of the East African nation's latest outbreak of the viral hemorrhagic disease. The outbreak infected 20 people and killed two, according to official figures.
Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi said the announcement follows the "successful completion of the mandatory 42-day monitoring period" that began after the discharge of the last Ugandan national, a locally transmitted patient, on June 16, 2026. He added that "enhanced surveillance has detected no unexplained community transmission."
Of the 20 confirmed cases, 18 were discharged and two died—both of whom were from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The last Ebola patient in Uganda, a Congolese national, was discharged on June 22.
Uganda has suffered multiple Ebola outbreaks since 2000, when it recorded its first epidemic. Officials say the country has gained expertise over the years, enabling it to bring recent infections under control quickly with limited community spread.
Fifteen of the latest cases were people infected in the DRC, the epicenter of the epidemic, where the number of confirmed cases now stands at more than 3,200. Uganda and the DRC declared their outbreaks on the same day in mid-May, but Uganda registered far fewer cases due to imported infections involving Congolese nationals seeking medical care.
WHO Defends Early Declaration
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has defended Uganda's decision to declare the end of its Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak before completing the conventional 42-day waiting period, saying the country remained focused on halting transmission and protecting public health.
Uganda discharged its last confirmed Ebola patient from the National Isolation and Treatment Centre in Mulago on July 16 and officially declared the outbreak over on July 28—less than two weeks later. The move sparked debate, with some observers questioning why the country did not wait the standard 42 days after the last confirmed case.
WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Mohamed Yakub Janabi, said Uganda's actions should be judged by the effectiveness of its response rather than strict adherence to procedural timelines. He noted that although Uganda had declared its outbreak over, the wider regional response was far from complete.
Dr Janabi, who is in Uganda with a delegation from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) led by Director-General Dr Jean Kaseya, said Uganda remains actively involved in efforts to contain the outbreak in neighboring DRC, where authorities had confirmed 3,605 cases and 1,587 deaths by Monday.
Health Minister Baryomunsi said Uganda has shifted its focus to supporting the response in eastern DRC. As of Monday, 58 Ugandan health specialists had been deployed to Kasenyi, on the western shores of Lake Albert in Ituri Province, as well as Aru Territory, which borders Uganda.
Case Fatality Rate Comparison
Uganda recorded a case fatality rate of about 10 per cent, compared to approximately 44 per cent in the DRC. The lower rate in Uganda has been attributed to the country's experience in handling past outbreaks and its relatively limited community spread.
Officials say Uganda's many tropical forests, which teem with fruit bats—natural reservoirs for the virus—make it vulnerable to frequent outbreaks. The virus is transmitted through contact with infected bodily fluids and tissue, with symptoms including fever, vomiting, and bleeding.
Travel Restrictions Debate
Criticism has been directed at the US for maintaining travel restrictions on Uganda despite the country's successful containment of the outbreak. The WHO's defense of Uganda's declaration may add pressure on countries to reconsider such measures based on the latest epidemiological data.