Uganda has its first confirmed case of Ebola linked to an ongoing outbreak in the region, the World Health Organization reported Thursday.
A five-year-old boy infected with the virus came to Uganda with his parents from the Democratic Republic of Congo on June 9. Congo has been experiencing an outbreak since last summer.
The family had crossed the border seeking medical care at a local hospital, and Ebola was identified as a possible source of the boy’s symptoms. The Uganda Virus Institute confirmed the diagnosis Thursday, according to a press release from the WHO.
The boy is now receiving treatment, and people he came into contact with are being monitored, the WHO said. The Ugandan Ministry of Health and the WHO have dispatched a rapid response team to the area.
To prepare for the possibility of imported cases, Uganda has already vaccinated nearly 4,700 health workers against Ebola and disease monitoring programs are in place, the WHO said.
Congo’s health ministry said on Monday that it has recorded 2,062 cases, including 1,390 deaths, since the epidemic began in August.
Efforts to contain the disease have been hampered by ongoing violence in the region, including attacks on health workers.
—With files from Reuters
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