Health authorities in Uganda intensified monitoring and response efforts after three more Ebola cases were confirmed amid the spreading outbreak.
| Photo Credit: AFP
Uganda confirmed three new Ebola cases, including a health worker and a driver linked to the country’s first known infection, as authorities race to contain the outbreak.
The new infections bring Uganda’s total confirmed Ebola cases to five, Charles Olaro, the country’s Director General of Health Services (DGHS), said in a statement posted on social media Saturday (May 23, 2026).
Besides the driver who transported the Ebola patient, a health worker was exposed while caring for the same person, Dr. Olaro said. Both were identified through contact tracing and are receiving treatment.
Authorities also confirmed infection in a Congolese woman who travelled from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to Uganda with mild abdominal symptoms. She flew from Arua to Entebbe on a chartered flight and later sought treatment at a private hospital in Kampala before returning to Congo, according to the statement.
All known contacts linked to the confirmed cases have been identified and are being monitored, Dr. Olaro said.
The outbreak involves the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, a relatively rare species of the virus for which there are no approved vaccines. The World Health Organization declared the outbreak in Uganda and neighbouring Congo a public health emergency of international concern.
Published – May 23, 2026 06:15 pm IST