The Ministry of Health on May 6 confirmed another outbreak of ebola in Uganda. A twelve-year-old girl from

 Zirobwe in Luwero district reportedly died of the disease after she was admitted to Bombo Military Hospital. Later a nurse at the hospital showed signs of the disease.
The Ministry of Health has since set up a control centre in Bombo. Meanwhile, the mother of the first victim and about 30 others who came in contact with the girl are being monitored for symptoms.
Ebola was first identified in 1976 near the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The disease occurs throughout Central Africa and is suspected to be contracted through contact with monkeys and other premates of the jungle. One outbreak in Congo, formerly Zaire, killed 250 people in 1995.
The World Health Organisation lists five distinct species of the ebola virus: Bundibugyo, Côte d’Ivoire, Reston, Sudan and Zaïre. Bundibugyo, Sudan and Zaïre species have been associated with large outbreaks of ebola haemorrhagic fever (EHF) in Africa causing death in 25-90% of all clinically ill cases, while Côte d’Ivoire and Reston have not.
In Uganda, the first ebola outbreak was in 2000 in Gulu, where 170 people died. In November 2007,  another ebola outbreak in Bundibugyo killed 37 people.
UCU Director of Medical Services, Dr. John Mutumba says the ebola strain that has reportedly broken out in Luwero, just about 50 miles north-west of Mukono, is the Sudan ebola strain. He warns that ebola is extremely contagious.
“That is why preventive measures must be taken. Anybody who gets any of the symptoms must report to the nearest health centre. Or if anybody is seen to have these symptoms, the case should be immediately reported,” Dr. Mutumba firmly says.
“The challenge,” he goes on, “ is that symptoms of the disease resemble those of other diseases like influenza, malaria, and typhoid. One can think they are sufferers of these other diseases yet they have ebola.”
A sufferer presents symptoms of high fever, headache, dry throat, joint and muscle aches, weakness, vomiting, dry cough, stomach pain.
Late symptoms include bleeding from eyes, ears and nose. The victim also bleeds from the rectum and the mouth. The victim suffers depression, genital swelling, skin rash, chest pain, uncontrollable internal bleeding, and external bleeding, kidney/liver failure and shock.

What is ebola?
Ebola is a virus that causes haemorrhagic fever  hence it’s name ebola viral hemorrhagic fever. Hemorrhagic fevers according to the Illinois Department of Public Health fact sheet, US, are a group of diseases caused by four families of viruses:  arenaviruses, bunyaviruses, filoviruses and flaviviruses. The usual hosts for most of these viruses are rodents or arthropods (such as ticks and mosquitoes) but, in some cases, such as the ebola virus, the natural host is unknown.
All forms of the disease begin with fever and muscle aches. Depending on the particular virus, the disease can progress until the patient becomes very ill with respiratory problems, severe bleeding, kidney problems and shock. The severity of viral hemorrhagic fever can range from a relatively mild illness to death.

Who is at risk?
Dr. Miriam Tumusingyize, disease prevention and control officer with Centres for Disease Control, says anybody who comes in contact with a sufferer is at risk.
She says to minimize the risk of contracting ebola, people must avoid direct contact with body fluids such as blood, saliva, vomit, urine, semen and stool of a sufferer by wearing protective gloves, masks and gowns.
“Even the clothes and beddings of the sufferer should not be touched. If anybody presents with ebola symptoms you must immediately report the case to a health centre. And don’t touch anything as you wait for help,” Dr. Tumusingyize elaborates.
She adds: “Disinfectants are very effective when used on contaminated surfaces. For example, where a patient has vomited, you spray and leave for 15 minutes to kill the virus, even on the clothes.”
Dr. Mutumba says if just one person got the disease, the whole community would be at risk because chances are that the disease would have already spread: That is why symptoms must immediately be reported to control it.
“At UCU life is communal. We share toilets, we worship together and share classrooms,  among other things. It is critical that the university educates the community on preventive measures,”  Dr. Mutumba urges.

Transmission/spread
The ebola virus is transmitted by direct contact with body fluids and tissues of infected persons. Transmission  has also occurred by handling the sick or dead,  infected wild animals (chimpanzees, gorillas, monkeys, forest antelope, fruit bats).
The ebola virus is spread through contact with persons who are very ill with the disease. These can be health workers, family members or any other person who comes into close contact with the disease. That is why it is not advisable for one to give help to an ebola patient without wearing protective gear as this leads to infection. Spread can also be through reuse of a needle during treatment.
Patients who have recovered from the disease have also been found to have it still in genital secretions: This is why survivors are advised to avoid sex for at least three months or until tests show that they are free of the virus.
 
Treatment
There is no known cure for ebola. Antiviral medicines given as treatments to fight viruses do not work well against the ebola virus. The disease has no vaccine or medication to halt it. 
Dr. Tumusingyize says the predominant treatment is general supportive therapy and that recovery depends on the body’s will to fight.
“What we do is treat the symptoms. If the patient is bleeding we give blood transfusions. We also give fluids due to dehydration. Some indeed get better while others succumb,” she says.

Community preventions
 lAvoid direct contact with a suspected ebola case, use gloves and masks if you must touch them.
 lCall Allan Galpin or any other medical facility should you discover a patient.
 lDo not touch the dead body or gather around it, the clinic deals with it.
 lDisinfect the victim’s belonings.