By KGR Reporter,
Uganda is on high alert following the confirmation of an outbreak of Marburg viral hemorrhagic fever in neighbouring Rwanda.
Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana, the Rwandan Minister for Health said on Thursday, that the country had recorded seven new cases of the highly infectious disease bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 36. The total of deaths has risen to 11 cases.
He noted that 323 contacts of confirmed cases were being monitored in isolation facilities to avoid further spread. The outbreak in Rwanda is posing a major risk to Uganda considering that there is a lot of movement and high interaction between people in the two countries.
When contacted by URN on Thursday, Dr Henry Kyobe an infectious diseases expert in the Ministry of Health who is usually in charge of such outbreaks, said Uganda has heightened surveillance but added that a full update on enforcement of measures will be delivered soon. ENDS