Uganda sets up 80-bed Ebola Isolation and Treatment Unit in DR Congo

_________________

Uganda has established an 80-bed Ebola isolation and treatment unit in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), expanding its support for the country's battle against a worsening Ebola outbreak even as Uganda edges closer to being declared Ebola-free.

The Ministry of Health on Wednesday confirmed that Ugandan health teams deployed to the DRC had completed the treatment facility in Kasenyi, while another team continues supporting the Ebola response in Aru.

The facility is expected to strengthen the DRC's capacity to isolate, treat and manage Ebola patients closer to affected communities, reducing pressure on health facilities and limiting cross-border movement of infected patients into Uganda.

The Ministry of Health on Wednesday confirmed that Ugandan health teams deployed to the DRC had completed the treatment facility

"Our teams supporting the Ebola response in Kasenyi have the 80-bed Isolation and Treatment Unit ready. Great work by the other team in Aru," the ministry's spokesperson, Emmanuel Ainebyoona, announced on  Wednesday July 22.

The development follows an agreement between Presidents Yoweri Museveni and Félix Tshisekedi to strengthen cross-border cooperation after Uganda recorded an imported Ebola outbreak linked to neighbouring Congo.

While discharging the last Ebola patient, the health minister Dr Chris Baryomunsi said the two governments signed a memorandum of understanding to coordinate surveillance, treatment and outbreak response, with Uganda committing both expertise and personnel to support the Congolese health system.

"We have sent our teams, our experts, to Congo to support the teams that are on the ground there," Baryomunsi said during the discharge ceremony for Uganda's last Ebola patient last week.

"We have established Ebola treatment centers on the side of Congo, and we hope there will be no more Congolese friends coming to Uganda seeking healthcare because we have taken the healthcare there that we provide as Ugandans." 

He said Uganda remains ready to expand its deployment should the situation in the DRC deteriorate further.

"We had an engagement with the leadership in Congo, and we agreed that if they require additional human resources, we shall send more, depending on how the situation progresses," Baryomunsi said.

"The majority of the health workers requested are to manage treatment units, but they also expressed the need for us to send teams that will support coordination and management of the outbreak," he added.

Ugandan medical teams are currently supporting clinical care, surveillance, laboratory services, and outbreak coordination in eastern DRC, where health authorities continue battling one of the region's largest Ebola epidemics.

The over-80-medics deployment in different fields came as Uganda enters the second week of the mandatory 42-day countdown before it can officially be declared Ebola-free by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The countdown began after the discharge of the country's last confirmed Ebola patient, a Congolese national, on July 16 from Mulago National Isolation Centre in Kampala. With no new infections reported since then, 35 days remain before Uganda can be declared free of the outbreak if no additional cases are detected.

Uganda's latest outbreak infected 20 people, including 15 Congolese nationals, four health workers and one driver. Two patients died, giving the country a case fatality rate of about 10%, significantly lower than the more than 30% typically associated with Bundibugyo Ebola virus outbreaks.

WHO has attributed Uganda's success to years of investment in epidemic preparedness, including specialised treatment facilities, trained emergency medical teams and pre-positioned medical supplies.

Uganda has established an 80-bed Ebola isolation and treatment unit in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), expanding its support for the country's battle against a worsening Ebola outbreak

However, officials warn that Uganda's risk remains high because transmission continues across the border. Baryomunsi said surveillance has been intensified along communities stretching from West Nile to Kisoro while health workers continue screening travellers and educating border communities about Ebola prevention.

According to Congolese health authorities, the country has now recorded 2,300 confirmed Ebola cases, including 930 deaths, with the outbreak continuing to outpace response efforts in some affected areas.