Since the death of the soldier in Mbarara on Nov. 2, three people who came into contact with him have died of the disease. Two of them were also soldiers and the third did community service at Mbarara hospital. There are no other reported cases of the virus in Mbarara, which like Gulu, is a military town. Nine new cases have been identified in Gulu during the last day, bringing the total number of Ebola cases in Uganda to 297, Opio said. Ebola, which is spread by bodily contact, can cause severe hemorrhagic fever and is often fatal.
Early symptoms are similar to the flu.
No one knows where the virus exists between outbreaks or how the first person in an outbreak contracts it. There is no cure for the disease, but patients treated aggressively have a good chance of survival. Opio said five people had been discharged from hospitals in the past day, bringing the number who have recovered from the virus to 171. Experts from World Health Organization, the Atlanta-based U.S. Centers for Disease Control, and Doctors without Borders are in Uganda helping authorities contain the disease. Click Here to make suggestions, comments about C-Health.