Caitlyn Stulpin , 2025-04-28 20:34:00
April 28, 2025
1 min read
Key takeaways:
- During the outbreak, 12 confirmed cases and four deaths were reported.
- Officials launched the first trial to assess the clinical efficacy of a vaccine against Sudan ebolavirus in response to the outbreak.
Uganda has declared an end to the Ebola outbreak that began earlier this year in Kampala, the nation’s capital city.
The outbreak, which was officially declared over on April 26, resulted in 12 confirmed and two probable cases, officials said. Four deaths were also reported, two of which were confirmed through laboratory testing.
Data derived from WHO.
Ugandan health officials declared the on Jan. 30 in Kampala, after a man aged 32 years died. According to WHO, the man, who was a nurse at Mulago National Referral Hospital, sought care from at least three facilities after developing symptoms. His symptoms progressed into “unexplained bleeding from multiple body sites,” and he experienced multiorgan failure before dying on Jan. 29, the Uganda Ministry of Health reported.
This prompted the declaration of the outbreak and the start of contact tracing, which resulted in a total of 534 people who were closely monitored after being identified as contacts.
Postmortem samples collected from the first patient confirmed that the man died from an infection with Sudan ebolavirus. While there are no licensed vaccines for Sudan ebolavirus, a randomized clinical trial of the recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus candidate was launched within 4 days of the outbreak’s declaration. This marked the first trial to assess the clinical efficacy of a vaccine against Sudan ebolavirus.
According to WHO, this was Uganda’s second Ebola outbreak in less than 3 years. The country’s last Ebola outbreak was also caused by Sudan ebolavirus and marked the first outbreak of the species in Uganda in over a decade. During the outbreak, officials developed a randomized protocol for candidate vaccines. WHO said this contributed to the quick launch of the trial during the 2025 outbreak.
“This outbreak challenged us in new ways. It touched both urban and rural communities across the country and unfolded against the backdrop of significant global funding constraints,” Chikwe Ihekweazu, MPH, acting WHO regional director for Africa, said in a press release. “The response demonstrated Uganda’s long-standing leadership in tackling public health emergencies.”
