THE REPUBLIC OF UGANDA MINISTRY OF HEALTH PRESS STATEMENT ON THE IMPORTED EBOLA VIRUS DISEASE (EVD) CASE IN KASESE DISTRICT HON. DR. JOYCE MORIKU KADUCU MINISTER OF STATE FOR HEALTH IN CHARGE OF PRIMARY HEALTH CARE 30 AUGUST 2019 The Ministry of Health would like to inform the public of an imported case of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in Kasese District, Uganda. The confirmed case is a 9 year old female of Congolese origin who traveled from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with her mother on Wednesday, 28th August 2019. The child and her mother who originate from Majengo district, of Lubhiriha in DRC entered the country through Mpondwe Main Border post to seek medical care in Bwera, Kasese District. The child was identified by the Point of Entry (PoE) screening team with the following symptoms: high fever, body weakness, rash and unexplained mouth bleeding. She was subsequently isolated and transferred to Bwera hospital Ebola Treatment Unit (ETU) for further management. A blood sample was drawn immediately and sent for testing at the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) and confirmed positive for Ebola Virus on 29th August 2019. Unfortunately, the girl passed on early in the morning today. Upon the request of the father, plans are under-way to repatriate the body to DRC for safe and dignified burial. May her soul rest in peace. Throughout the cycle of handling this girl – that is, at the PoE, as well as admission at Bwera ETU - all health workers observed the appropriate Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) practices. Additionally, all our health workers at the Mpondwe crossing border point and Bwera hospital are vaccinated against EVD. Thus, there is minimal risk of transmission of EVD among the health workforce at Kasese. Our surveillance teams listed five contacts – three had shared the ETU with the confirmed case on the 28th of August 2019, while two were attendants to patients in the ETU. All these five are of Congolese origin and were transported in the same ambulance with the confirmed case from Mpondwe PoE to Bwera ETU. By the evening of 29th August 2019, four of these contacts had been taken back to DRC for vaccination and effective follow up. The fifth contact who is the mother to the confirmed case is scheduled to return to DRC for burial of her deceased daughter. The Ministry of Health with support from Partners has dispatched a Rapid Response Team to Kasese to support the district teams to continue with the various EVD response activities including: case management, community engagement, contact tracing, psychosocial support and vaccination among others. Working with the World Health Organisation (WHO), a total of 300 doses of EVD vaccines have been delivered to Kasese today. These will be used to vaccinate any possible contacts. Bwera town located in Kasese District is situated 472 km from Kampala Capital City and the district has developed full capacity to handle disease outbreaks including EVD. Therefore, this threat poses no major risks to the rest of the country. The Ministry of Health reassures all Ugandans and visitors that, with experience and expertise available in the country, the disease will be contained. 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 entry points to prevent the spread of Ebola to other parts of the country. In order to prevent spread of Ebola, the Ministry of Health appeals to the public to: • Always wash your hands thoroughly with soap and clean water • Avoid direct contact like shaking hands and hugging with any person suspected or infected with Ebola • All persons who have died of Ebola must be buried immediately by a trained burial team and accorded a safe and dignified burial to prevent spread of Ebola We appeal to the public to remain calm and vigilant and report any suspected cases to the nearest health facility or call our toll-free number 0800-100-066 for appropriate guidance. The Ministry of Health appreciates all partners for their tireless efforts and support to prevent the spread of Ebola in Uganda. For God and my country HON. DR. JOYCE MORIKU KADUCU STATE MINISTER OF HEALTH – PRIMARY HEALTH CARE .