Health Alerts

No declaration of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) was the upshot of the WHO Emergency Committee meeting on June 14 regarding the Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in the NE, but the situation remains concerning, particularly in view of the recent spread to the western region of Uganda. It was found that all ‘three criteria for a PHEIC under the IHR’ were not met at the time. Current information on the outbreak from the Ministry of Health shows there have now been 2,187 confirmed or suspected EVD cases and 1,459 deaths. The Ugandan government announced yesterday that two members of the extended family that had travelled from the DRC seeking treatment had succumbed to Ebola and those remaining had been repatriated, including a young boy who has since died of the infection. Two new suspect cases are under isolation at Bwera Ebola Treatment Unit in Kasese District; test results are pending. Read more.