Russia continues Ebola response in Uganda
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with the head of Russia’s health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, Anna Popova. © Vyacheslav Prokofiev / Sputnik Russia is continuing its work in Uganda following the country’s Ebola outbreak, with specialists remaining on the ground, the head of Russia’s health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, Anna Popova, said on Tuesday.
Speaking at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Popova said Russian experts were deployed to Uganda shortly after the outbreak began and helped local authorities bring it under control. “Efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak in Uganda are still underway right now,” she said.
The East African state was declared free of Ebola on August 27 after recording no new infections for 42 days. The outbreak, which began in May, caused 20 confirmed cases and two deaths in the country. Fifteen infections were imported from DR Congo, while five occurred among contacts and health workers linked to those cases, the authorities said.
READ MORE: Ebola outbreak: Is the US panicking with new travel bans? “The test, which we brought there during the very first few days, proved to be highly effective,” Popova noted, adding that, after being further refined on the ground, the test has since passed the first stage of the World Health Organization’s qualification process.
Russia has provided Uganda with broader support in tackling Ebola and other infectious disease threats. Moscow sent epidemiologists to the country in May to assist with the outbreak investigation and supplied diagnostic tests, while a Russian mobile anti-epidemic laboratory was donated to Uganda in 2024. More than 80 Ugandan specialists have also received training at Rospotrebnadzor institutions in pathogen monitoring, laboratory diagnostics, biosafety, and other areas.
Earlier this month, ten specialists from the Ugandan Health Ministry and research institutions began a two-week course in Moscow covering disinfection, pest control, and field surveillance.
While Uganda has brought its outbreak to an end, Ebola infections continue to rise in neighboring DR Congo. The latest government figures show 7,258 confirmed cases and 3,510 deaths, putting the case fatality rate at 48.4%. A total of 1,726 patients have recovered, while 905 remain in isolation or hospital care.
The outbreak has now spread to 62 health zones across seven provinces, with Ituri the worst affected. Cases have also been recorded in North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uele, Bas-Uele, Tshopo, and Sud-Ubangi.
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