Uganda health ministry confirms Ebola outbreak, one dead

Uganda health ministry confirms Ebola outbreak, one dead. [AFP]

Uganda's health ministry said Friday it had confirmed an outbreak of the highly infectious Ebola virus, and that a man had died from the disease after travelling from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

A major outbreak of the virus was declared in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, which neighbours Uganda, with 65 suspected deaths.

"The Ministry of Health has today confirmed an Ebola Bundibugyo Virus Disease outbreak," Ugandan authorities said in a statement, adding that a 59-year-old man had died at Kibuli Muslim Hospital in the capital, Kampala.

The Congolese man was admitted to the hospital on May 11 and died three days later. His body was repatriated.

After DRC reported the outbreak, Ugandan authorities tested a sample taken from the deceased during his care, the statement said, and confirmed he had the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola.

"This is an imported case from DRC. The country has not yet confirmed a local case," the ministry said, adding that it had deployed extensive screening, surveillance, and rapid response protocols.