Uganda on high alert as rare Ebola strain is confirmed

Added: 2026-05-23

[00:00:02]Uganda has confirmed an imported case of the Ebola Bundibugyo strain involving a Congolese national who had been receiving treatment at Chiwoli Hospital.

[00:00:10]Health officials say the patient's condition deteriorated before he later died at the intensive care unit. Unlike previous outbreaks dominated by the Sudan strain, the Bundibugyo strain has remained relatively rare and less understood. Dr. Misaki Wayengera, a researcher and academic renowned for his work in virology, genomics, and infectious diseases surveillance says the Bundibugyo strain belongs to a wider family of Ebola viruses commonly hosted in wild animals such as primates and bats. species of Ebola virus that we have that infect cause disease in human uh are five.

[00:00:49]The sixth one does not cause disease in human beings.

[00:00:54]It infects monkeys and it can cause disease in monkeys. That is the Reston.

[00:01:00]So, within the genera Ebola virus which belongs to this family of uh the the filoviruses or the Filoviridae family uh has these five species.

[00:01:22]The difference is in the genetics and also the behavior. Dr. Wayengera says while symptoms of the Bundibugyo strain may not significantly differ from other Ebola variants, the severity and fatality rate are what often distinguish one outbreak from another. The behavior in the sense that the virulence, the the type the how strong the the the the disease is the number of people who can die uh but the major thing that we use to set aside the differences is in the genetics. He explains that Ebola remains a zoonotic disease, warning that increasing human encroachment into wildlife habitats continues to heighten the risk of transmission from animals to humans. We are seeing a growth in populations numbers.

[00:02:20]We are seeing increased social economic activities like mining, timber logging.

[00:02:26]These all these activities increase the level of human interface with the need with the ecosystems where these viruses have their niches.

[00:02:38]So, that means that we also increase the chances of crossover to human beings.

[00:02:44]More recently, we've realized and we've learned that even some human beings can carry these viruses silently.

[00:02:53]We have these areas people who previously got infected can keep the live virus in areas which we call privileged sites. These are areas where the body's immune system cannot reach.

[00:03:06]So, the it is difficult for the body to clear the virus from there. For example, in the testes. First detected in Uganda in 2007, the Bundibugyo strain has largely remained under the radar until this latest resurgence. According to Dr. Wanyera, its sporadic appearance makes scientific research and long-term preparedness more difficult. They come and go.

[00:03:32]So, you don't have enough time to actually design a a trial.

[00:03:38]So, even the trials were never completed in West Africa. By the time the the trials had just begun in West Africa, the outbreak was waning away.

[00:03:48]Uganda is globally recognized for its swift response and containment of viral outbreaks. However, the Minister of Health, Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng, says mounting an Ebola response operation is an extremely expensive undertaking. We have never handled any outbreak that has cost us less than 50 million US dollars and above.

[00:04:12]Usually, it goes to 150 million, 200 million US dollars because of the various activities that we have to carry out. So, our um intention is to always ensure that we control these outbreaks as quickly as possible to limit the expenditure, to avoid the spread, but most specifically, um also adhere to the international health regulations and ensure that we don't allow it to escape from the country. The development comes at a time when Uganda is preparing to host thousands of Christian pilgrims for the upcoming Martyrs Day celebrations in June, including visitors from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

[00:04:59]Health experts continue to urge the public to remain vigilant for symptoms associated with Ebola, including sudden fever, chills, severe headache, fatigue, muscle pain, and sore throat, which can appear between 2 and 21 days after exposure.

[00:05:17]Walter Mwesigye, NTV.