Latest news with #DianaAtwine
CBC
04-02-2025
- Health
- CBC
Ebola vaccine trial begins in Uganda amid outbreak
Social Sharing Ugandan authorities launched on Monday a clinical trial of a vaccine against the Sudan strain of Ebola that has killed one nurse in the capital, Kampala. The 32-year-old male nurse died on Wednesday, and was confirmed to have had the Sudan strain through postmortem tests, Diana Atwine, permanent secretary of the health ministry, told reporters. The vaccine clinical trial is enrolling health workers and others who have been exposed to the virus. On Jan. 30, Uganda declared an outbreak of Ebola. The total number of cases have now risen to three, with the two additional cases from the family of the deceased, Ministry of Health spokesperson Emmanuel Ainebyoona told Reuters late on Monday. Officials are investigating the source of the outbreak. The World Health Organization is collaborating with Uganda's Ministry of Health, the Uganda Virus Research Institute, and the Makerere University Lung Institute to conduct the trial of the vaccine, which was developed by Merck and provided by the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative. Here are some factors that set this Ebola outbreak apart from previous ones. The virus Ebola infection symptoms include hemorrhage, headache and muscle pains. This outbreak is of the Sudan virus disease, part of the Ebola viral family, and involves similar symptoms. It's a severe, often fatal illness affecting humans and other primates, according to the WHO. It's typically transmitted through contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person or contaminated materials. Uganda has experienced five previous Ebola outbreaks, including one in 2000 that killed hundreds, the WHO said. The other main type of Ebola is called Zaire. "Sudan can be as aggressive as Zaire," with similar signs and symptoms, said Gary Kobinger, who worked at Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory and helped design a vaccine for the Zaire type of Ebola. What's concerning, he said, is there isn't yet an approved vaccine for Sudan, and therapeutics for it aren't as advanced. Uganda's new outbreak Health workers and others potentially exposed to the virus are being offered more doses of the candidate vaccine, according to the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), which provided the vaccine. Kampala has a highly mobile population of about four million, which could make contact tracing — a key to stemming spread — more challenging. The nurse who died had sought treatment at a hospital just outside the capital and later travelled to Mbale in the country's east, where he was admitted to a public hospital. Health authorities said he also sought the services of a traditional healer. Dr. Craig Spencer, an associate professor of public health and emergency medicine at Brown University in Rhode Island, treated Ebola patients in Guinea and recovered from it himself in New York in 2014. "Without knowing where the initial case is coming from and the potential for there to be further spread, especially within health-care facilities in the capital, it is definitely a time of heightened concern," said Spencer. At least 234 contacts have been identified in this outbreak, according to Uganda's Ministry of Health. Speed of response The vaccine candidate was prepared and ready to be deployed in Uganda, Spencer said. As a result, within days of the outbreak being declared, the clinical trial kicked off, said WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a social media post. The trial will evaluate whether the candidate is efficacious. Uganda learned from its outbreak of the Sudan type of Ebola two years ago, Spencer said. At the time, a vaccine trial wasn't ready to be conducted before the outbreak ended. IAVI said its Ebola Sudan vaccine candidate uses the same viral vector platform as Merck's single-dose Zaire Ebola virus vaccine. WATCH | Uganda's 2022 Ebola outbreak: Ebola spreads in Uganda as country waits for experimental vaccine 2 years ago Duration 2:04 "Overall, it's a very similar vaccine, adapted for Sudan," Kobinger said. But given there's a few changes, it needs to be tested in human clinical trials, he said. This is the first Ebola outbreak since the Trump administration's decision last week to withdraw from the UN health agency. The United States is by far the WHO's biggest financial backer, contributing around 18 per cent of its overall funding. WHO's most recent two-year budget, for 2024-25, was $6.8 billion US. It's also the first such outbreak since Trump's order for a freeze on foreign assistance. Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious diseases specialist at Toronto General Hospital, said a well-funded and functional WHO is especially important in an era of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. "This could become a much larger regional problem and unfortunately, even global problem if these aren't dealt with appropriately and quickly," Bogoch said. "It's also the right thing to do and the humane thing."
Euronews
31-01-2025
- Health
- Euronews
Ebola: Nurse in Uganda dies in country's first outbreak in two years
A nurse in Uganda has died of Ebola, a health official said on Thursday, marking the first recorded death in the country from the severe illness in two years. The 32-year-old male nurse was an employee of Mulago Hospital, the main referral facility in the capital, Kampala, according to Diana Atwine, permanent secretary of the health ministry. Atwine added in a social media post that the "rapid response teams are fully deployed, contact tracing is underway, and all necessary measures are in place to contain the situation". "We assure the public that we are in full control," she wrote, while urging Ugandans to report any suspected cases. After developing a fever, the nurse was treated at several locations in Uganda before multiple lab tests confirmed he had been suffering from Ebola. The man died on Wednesday and the Sudan strain of Ebola was confirmed following postmortem tests, Atwine said. At least 44 contacts of the victim have been identified, including 30 health workers and patients at Mulago Hospital, according to Uganda's Ministry of Health. Tracing contacts is key to stemming the spread of Ebola, and there are no approved vaccines for the Sudan strain of Ebola. Uganda's last outbreak, discovered in September 2022, killed at least 55 people before it was declared over in January 2023. Outbreaks of viral haemorrhagic fevers Confirmation of Ebola in Uganda is the latest in a trend of outbreaks of viral haemorrhagic fevers in the east African region. Tanzania declared an outbreak of the Ebola-like Marburg disease earlier this month, and in December Rwanda announced that its own outbreak of Marburg was over. The World Health Organization (WHO) will send an initial allocation of $1 million (€957,000) from a contingency fund to support Uganda's response, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO director-general, said in a brief statement posted on the social platform X. "A full scale response is being initiated by the government and partners," the statement said. Kampala's outbreak could prove difficult to respond to because the city has a highly mobile population of about 4 million. Ebola, which is spread by contact with bodily fluids of an infected person or contaminated materials, manifests as a deadly haemorrhagic fever. Symptoms include fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, muscle pain and at times internal and external bleeding. Scientists don't know the natural reservoir of Ebola, but they suspect the first person infected in an outbreak acquired the virus through contact with an infected animal or eating its raw meat. Ugandan officials are still investigating the source of the current outbreak.
Russia Today
31-01-2025
- Health
- Russia Today
Deadly Ebola virus spreads in African state
Uganda has confirmed an Ebola outbreak in its capital Kampala after a 32-year-old man succumbed to the virus, health officials said Thursday. According to Diana Atwine, the ministry's permanent secretary, the patient succumbed to the illness on Wednesday at Mulago National Referral Hospital after experiencing multiple-organ failure. A post-mortem examination confirmed that he had been infected with the Sudan Ebola Virus Disease (SUDV), a strain responsible for previous outbreaks in the country. Authorities are tracing at least 44 contacts, including 30 health workers, as they work to contain the spread. However, tracking all contacts may be challenging, as Kampala is a major travel hub, connecting Uganda to South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda. Ebola is a highly contagious hemorrhagic fever transmitted through contact with infected bodily fluids and tissues. Symptoms include fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, and internal or external bleeding. READ MORE: Tanzania confirms deadly virus case 'Bleeding manifestations usually appear in later stages, after the above symptoms,' Atwine said. On Friday, Russia's human welfare watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, stated that it is ready to assist Kampala. 'Rospotrebnadzor is in contact with its Ugandan colleagues and has sent proposals to assist in conducting an epidemiological investigation and anti-epidemic measures,' the statement said. Earlier in 2024, in order to enhance Kampala's laboratory capacity, Russia delivered a mobile laboratory to Kampala, enabling the rapid laboratory diagnosis of dangerous infectious diseases, the press service clarified. This marks Uganda's first confirmed Ebola fatality since 2023. The country's last major outbreak occurred in September 2022, originating in Mubende district, and was officially declared over after four months. That outbreak was also caused by the Sudan Ebola virus strain. READ MORE: From Leopold to lithium: How corporations perfected the art of plundering Africa The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that, on average, the virus claims the lives of five out of every ten infected individuals, though previous outbreaks have seen fatality rates fluctuate between 25% and 90%, depending on response efforts and medical intervention. Earlier in January, neighboring Tanzania confirmed an outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus in its northwest Kagera region. Uganda recorded three fatalities in 2017 due to this disease.
Voice of America
31-01-2025
- Health
- Voice of America
Ugandan nurse dies of Ebola
A male nurse in Uganda has died of Ebola, the first recorded death by the disease in the East African country since an outbreak ended in 2023, health officials said. The 32-year-old nurse worked at Mulago National Specialised Hospital in Kampala, Diana Atwine, permanent secretary of Uganda's health ministry, said Thursday. The nurse died Wednesday of the Sudan strain of Ebola, Atwine said. He sought treatment at several hospitals and had also consulted with a traditional healer before tests confirmed an Ebola diagnosis, health officials said. World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus posted on X that his organization was supporting Uganda's efforts to contain an Ebola outbreak in Uganda with a $1 million allocation from WHO's Contingency Fund for Emergencies. Atwine said on her X social media account that 'rapid response teams are fully deployed, contact tracing is underway, and all necessary measures are in place to contain the situation. We assure the public that we are in full control.' Contact tracing, however, could be challenging in Kampala, with its population of 4 million people. The health ministry, however, reported that it had identified 44 contacts of the late nurse, which included 30 other health care workers. The symptoms of Ebola, an often fatal disease, include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain, and at times internal and external bleeding. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, health care workers and family members caring for someone with Ebola are at high risk for contracting the disease. WHO said Ebola 'is transmitted to people from wild animals (such as fruit bats, porcupines and non-human primates) and then spreads in the human population through direct contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people, and with surfaces and materials (e.g., bedding, clothing) contaminated with these fluids.' Ebola's fatality rate is around 50%, WHO said on its website, but it also said that fatality rates have varied from 25% to 90% in some outbreaks.
Los Angeles Times
30-01-2025
- Health
- Los Angeles Times
Hospital nurse in Uganda dies in country's first Ebola outbreak in 2 years
KAMPALA, Uganda — A nurse in Uganda has died of Ebola in the first recorded fatality since the country's last outbreak of the disease ended in early 2023, a health official said. The 32-year-old man was an employee of Mulago Hospital, the main referral facility in the capital, Kampala, Diana Atwine, permanent secretary of the health ministry, told reporters Thursday. After developing a fever, he was treated at several locations in Uganda before multiple lab tests confirmed he had been suffering from Ebola. The man died on Wednesday and the Sudan strain of Ebola was confirmed following postmortem tests, Atwine said. At least 44 contacts of the victim have been identified, including 30 health workers and patients at Mulago Hospital, according to Uganda's Ministry of Health. The health authorities are 'in full control of the situation,' Atwine said, while also urging Ugandans to report any suspected cases. Tracing contacts is key to stemming the spread of Ebola, and there are no approved vaccines for the Sudan strain of Ebola. Uganda's last outbreak, discovered in September 2022, killed at least 55 people before it was declared over in January 2023. Confirmation of Ebola in Uganda is the latest in a trend of outbreaks of viral hemorrhagic fevers in east Africa. Tanzania declared an outbreak of the Ebola-like Marburg disease this month; in December, Rwanda announced that its outbreak of Marburg was over. The World Health Organization will send an initial allocation of $1 million from a contingency fund to support Uganda's response, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO director-general, said in a brief statement posted on the social platform X. 'A full scale response is being initiated by the government and partners,' the statement said. Kampala's outbreak could prove difficult to respond to, because the city has a highly mobile population of about 4 million. The nurse who died had sought treatment at a hospital just outside Kampala and later traveled to Mbale, in the country's east, where he was admitted in a public hospital. Health authorities said the man also sought the services of a traditional healer. Emmanuel Batiibwe, a physician who helped lead Uganda's efforts to stop the country's 2022 outbreak, told the Associated Press that he expected a swift response in tracing all possible Ebola contacts in Kampala and elsewhere. 'Our reaction should be swift, decisive and well-coordinated,' he said, speaking of lessons learned from the 2022 outbreak, whose epicenter was a town in central Uganda. 'We have the means of responding quickly now.' Ebola, which is spread by contact with bodily fluids of an infected person or contaminated materials, manifests as a deadly hemorrhagic fever. Symptoms include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain and at times internal and external bleeding. Scientists don't know the natural reservoir of Ebola, but they suspect the first person infected in an outbreak acquired the virus through contact with an infected animal or eating its raw meat. Ugandan officials are investigating the source of the current outbreak. Uganda has had multiple Ebola outbreaks, including one in 2000 that killed hundreds. The 2014 to 2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa killed more than 11,000 people, the disease's largest death toll. Ebola was discovered in 1976 in two simultaneous outbreaks in South Sudan and Congo, where it occurred in a village near the Ebola River, after which the disease is named. Muhumuza writes for the Associated Press.
