The mysterious disease that killed 14 people in Uganda since the beginning of July 2012 has finally been identified as the Ebola virus. The Ministry of Health (MoH) of Uganda and a World Health Organisation (WHO) representative reported the news after laboratory confirmation was done by the Uganda Virus Research Institute in Entebbe. A total of 20 total cases have been confirmed in Kibaale district, in the western part of Uganda, nine of which have occurred in a single household. Ebola virus causes haemorrhagic fever and internal bleeding; it is highly infectious as well as contagious.
The MoH coordinates a national task force and is cooperating with stakeholders, WHO and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in order to control the outbreak. Kibaale hospital has established a temporary isolation ward for suspected, probable and confirmed cases, with the collaboration of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
At the moment, WHO does not recommend that any travel or trade restrictions are applied to Uganda.
Ebola outbreak in Uganda
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Open letter to the Minister of Health, Italy
di Autori vari
Honorable Minister,
The signers of this letter, all active in the field of health care, research and teaching of medicine, are surprised to hear that a widely appreciated physician and researcher, for many years active in the field of cystic fibrosis, has not been considered adequate to serve as the director of the main Italian center for the treatment of this disease.