Uganda has officially declared the end of its latest Ebola virus outbreak, which has claimed at least two lives since it began in late January.
The declaration came 42 days after the last confirmed patient was discharged from the hospital — the standard period required to confirm the end of transmission.
This outbreak marked the sixth time Uganda has grappled with Ebola, a deadly virus with six distinct strains, three of which have caused major epidemics.
“During this outbreak, 14 cases were reported—12 confirmed and two probable — resulting in four deaths, two of which were laboratory-confirmed,” the World Health Organisation (WHO) said in a statement.
The confirmed cases involved the Sudan strain of the virus, leading to the deaths of a four-year-old child and a nurse. Several dozen individuals who had contact with the infected were monitored, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).
“The current Ebola Sudan Virus Disease outbreak has officially come to an end,” Uganda’s Ministry of Health announced on X (formerly Twitter). “This follows 42 days without a new case since the last confirmed patient was discharged on 14 March 2025.”
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus commended Uganda’s health ministry for its “leadership and commitment” in tackling the outbreak.
“Congratulations to the government and health workers of Uganda on ending the Ebola outbreak,” he posted on X.
At present, there is no approved vaccine for the Sudan strain of the virus. However, Uganda launched a vaccination trial in February, praised by the WHO as the “fastest roll-out” of an Ebola vaccine trial during an active epidemic.
Despite the successful management of the outbreak, international funding for such health efforts remains under strain. In early March, the United Nations appealed for $11.2 million in emergency funds after the United States announced significant cuts to its humanitarian aid contributions.
Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids of an infected person. Individuals only become contagious once symptoms — including fever, vomiting, bleeding, and diarrhoea — appear, typically after an incubation period of between two and 21 days.
Across Africa, Ebola has claimed the lives of more than 15,000 people over the past fifty years, across all six known strains.
