Description of the situation
28 February 2001
Disease Outbreak Reported
PRESS RELEASE
ISSUED BY WHO- 28 February 2001 UGANDA EBOLA OUTBREAK
OFFICIALLY OVER WHO calls for stronger alert
and response to minimize the
The Uganda Ebola outbreak, which was first
reported in October 2000, is officially over. The last person to be infected by the virus
recovered 42 days ago, twice the maximum incubation period for Ebola to develop.
The international response, in support of
the Government of Uganda helped to break the cycle of transmission of the virus which
killed 224 people in Uganda, including health workers and Dr. Matthew Lukwiya, who first
identified the outbreak. More than 20 international NGOs and
government agencies (see list below) from WHO's Global Outbreak
Alert and Response Network worked together to combat the outbreak. In particular, the
Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, US (CDC), Epicentre, Health Canada, Italian
Cooperation, Médecins sans Frontières (MSF), the Red Cross and UNICEF, together with
institutions in Belgium, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom worked closely with the
doctors, nurses and staff at Gulu Hospital and Lacor Hospital, and Ugandan government
officials. "The successful operation in Uganda
emphasized what can be achieved when we identify epidemic threats rapidly and act together
swiftly. Today we recognize the efforts of the people of Uganda, and the contributions and
achievements of our partners." says David Heymann, Executive Director of WHO's
Communicable Diseases. "Epidemic prone diseases are harmful to communities and ignore
national borders. We need to recognize them as threats to global health security and
coordinate effective international solutions." In this regard, WHO is working to mobilize
the international community to strengthen epidemic alert and response and raise awareness
of the global threat of infectious diseases. Global health security will be a top agenda
item at this year's World Health Assembly. First reports from Gulu District of an
unusual severe febrile illness reached the Ugandan Ministry of Health in Kampala on 8
October 2000. Even before the disease was formally identified as Ebola, the Government of
Uganda facilitated rapid access to the outbreak area and partners in WHO's Global
Outbreak Alert and Response Network responded with technical experts, protective equipment
and logistics support for the Outbreak Response. Initial laboratory confirmation was carried out by the
National Institute of Virology in South Africa. A field laboratory was maintained at Lacor
Hospital by CDC throughout the outbreak. This innovative measure guaranteed essential
laboratory services for diagnostic tests to confirm or refute Ebola infection, and for
packaging and transport of clinical samples requiring additional investigations. Direct financial support to the Ebola
Appeal was provided by Canada, ECHO, the European Commission, Ireland, Norway and Japan to
supplement contingency funding provided by Germany and the Netherlands. In addition, many
donors and agencies provided assistance directly to Uganda. The mobilization of the local community in
Gulu played a pivotal role in controlling the Ebola outbreak and is central to a new
early-warning surveillance system for epidemic-prone diseases. Following the Ebola
Outbreak partners in WHO's Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network and
Uganda's Ministry of Health are implementing a community-based disease surveillance
system that will significantly improve people's lives and represents a potential model for
future development of community-based surveillance systems. Ebola haemorrhagic fever (EHF) is one of
the most virulent viral diseases known to humankind, causing death in 50-90% of all
clinically ill cases. The virus was first identified in a western equatorial province of
Sudan and in a nearby region of Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo) in 1976 after
significant epidemics in Yambuku, northern Zaire, and Nzara, southern Sudan. Including the most recent outbreak, about
1500 cases with over 1000 deaths have been documented since the virus was discovered. Partners in the Global Outbreak Alert and
Response Network that provided support and personnel to the Outbreak Response Team
included: Action Contre la Faim (ACF) African Medical and Research Foundation
(AMREF-Flying Doctors) Agency for Coordination in Research and
Development (ACORD-UK) Catholic Relief Services Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, Atlanta, USA (CDC) Epicentre, Paris, France International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) International Federation of Red Cross and
Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the Ugandan Red Cross Society Health Canada, Ottawa, Canada Institute of Medical Science, Tokyo,
Japan Institute for Tropical Medicine, Antwerp,
Belgium International Rescue Committee (IRC) Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS,
Italy) Italian Cooperation, Italy Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) (Holland
and Belgium) Nagoya City University Medical School,
Japan National Health Service, United Kingdom National Institute of Infectious
Diseases, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan National Institute of Virology,
Johannesburg, South Africa Public Health Laboratory Services, United
Kingdom Sendai Quarantine Station, Japan Tropical Medicine Institute, Hamburg,
Germany UNICEF United Kingdom Department for
International Development (DFID) US Agency for International Development
(USAID) World Food Programme (Nairobi) World Health Organization World Vision _________________________________________________________________________________________________________
global impact of future outbreaks