The World Health Organisation (WHO) says Uganda has shown that Ebola can be defeated when the whole system works together.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, said this in a statement issued on Wednesday.
He congratulated Uganda for its robust and comprehensive response which he said has resulted in today’s victory over Ebola.
He said that Ebola outbreak was caused by the Sudan ebolavirus, one of six species of the Ebola virus against which no therapeutics and vaccines have been approved yet.
The WHO boss said Uganda’s long experience in responding to epidemics allowed the country to rapidly strengthen critical areas of the response and overcome the lack of these key tools.
Similarly, Uganda’s Minister of Health Jane Acero, said that Uganda put a swift end to the Ebola outbreak by ramping up key control measures such as surveillance, contact tracing and infection, prevention and control.
She said It was the country’s first Sudan ebolavirus outbreak in a decade and its fifth overall for this kind of Ebola.
According to her, in total there were 164 cases (142 confirmed and 22 probable), 55 confirmed deaths and 87 recovered patients.
She said more than 4000 people who came in contact with confirmed cases were followed up and their health monitored for 21 days.
Acero said that overall, the case-fatality ratio was 47 per cent.
The last patient was released from care on 30 November when the 42-day countdown to the end of the outbreak began.
She said health authorities showed strong political commitment and implemented accelerated public health actions.
Meanwhile, WHO Regional Director for Africa Dr Matshidiso Moeti, said that with no vaccines and therapeutics, this was one of the most challenging Ebola outbreaks in the past five years,
He however said Uganda stayed the course and continuously fine-tuned its response.