Child dies of Ebola in Uganda, raising concerns

A 4-year-old child became the second person to die of Ebola in Uganda, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on March 1, in a setback for health officials who had hoped for a quick end to the outbreak that began at the end of January.

The child had been hospitalized at the main referral facility in Kampala, the capital of the East African country, and died last week, the WHO office in Uganda said in a brief statement. That statement said WHO and others are working to strengthen surveillance and contact tracing.

The death undermines Ugandan officials’ assertions of an outbreak under control after eight Ebola patients were discharged earlier in February. The first victim was a male nurse who died the day before the outbreak was declared on Jan. 30.

He had sought treatment at multiple facilities in Kampala and in eastern Uganda, where he also visited a traditional healer in trying to diagnose his illness, before later dying in Kampala.

The successful treatment of eight patients who had been contacts of that man, including some of his relatives, had left local health officials anticipating the end of the outbreak. But they are still investigating its source.

Tracing contacts is key to stemming the spread of Ebola, and there are no approved vaccines for the Sudan strain of Ebola that's infecting people in Uganda.

Over 20,000 travelers are screened daily for Ebola at Uganda’s different border crossing points, according to WHO, which supports the work.