KAMPALA, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- Uganda's ministry of health announced late on Thursday a second Ebola outbreak in the western district of Kasese, about 472 km from the capital Kampala, following an imported case from the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Joyce Moriku Kaducu, minister of state for primary health care, said in a statement that a 9 year-old female Congolese who entered the country with her mother on Wednesday through the Mpondwe border to seek medical care at Bwera Hospital has tested positive of the deadly virus.
The minister said the child was identified by the point of entry screening team with symptoms of high fever, body weakness, rash, and unexplained mouth bleeding.
"A blood sample was drawn immediately and sent for testing at the Uganda Virus Research Institute and confirmed positive for Ebola on Aug. 29," said Moriku.
"Since the child was identified in Uganda at the point of entry, there are no contacts in Uganda," she said.
The confirmed case is currently being managed at Bwera Ebola treatment unit in Kasese.
In June, Uganda confirmed three index cases of the highly contagious disease who visited the neighboring DRC. The outbreak was declared finished after 42 days of close monitoring.
Moriku said a rapid response team was on Thursday dispatched to Kasese to support the district teams to continue with various activities including case management, community engagement, contact tracing, psychological support and vaccination, among others.
"The ministry of health re-echoes its call to the general public to cooperate with the health workers, immigration and security officials to ensure effective screening at all points of entry to prevent the spread of Ebola to other parts of the country," said Moriku.
Ebola is a highly infectious disease spread through body contact with an infected person. It presents symptoms including high fever, bleeding, diarrhea and red eyes, among others, according to the World Health Organization.
Mortality rates of Ebola fever, according to the health body, are extremely high, with the human case fatality rate ranging from 50 percent to 89 percent, depending on viral subtype.
