Uganda:
The WHO reports 16 deaths and 38 suspected cases in Kibaale, while the Ugandan Daily Monitor reports 50. Francis Mugerwa, author for the Daily Monitor, writes that the Kibaale district health office is monitoring 232 people as a result of their contact with suspected Ebola cases. The vice chairperson for the District Ebola Taskforce, Mr. Stephen Mfashingabo, reports that samples have been collected from 37 suspected cases and are being analyzed at the Uganda Virus Institute.
Reuters reporters write that Ugandan health officials are hopeful that this outbreak will not reach the extent of the 2000 outbreak, in which 425 people were infected. However, there have been reports of a strange illness killing five people in Ntungamo district in southern Uganda, near Rwanda and Tanzania. According to the Daily Monitor, seven patients remain in health centers. Symptoms include vomiting and fever. The Ntungamo district health officer, Dr. Benon Bamuturaki, stated that they are not ruling out Ebola, though he believes Ebola is not causing the illness as the symptoms are not necessarily indicative of the virus that is causing fear in the Kibaale district. However, samples have been sent to the virus research center to be certain.
Kenya:
Meanwhile in Kenya, panic rises again as another patient displayed signs of Ebola. The patient travelled from South Sudan, through Uganda, to Kenya and is now in an isolation ward at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital Eldoret. Samples have been sent to the Kenya Medical Research Institute. On August 1, Kenyan publication, The Star, reported that government issued Ebola screening camps were being constructed on the Kenya-Uganda border in Busia county.
South Sudan:
The Kenyan government isn’t the only one concerned about its borders: the South Sudanese Minister of Health Dr. Michael Hussein Milly spoke to the press in Juba on August 2 2012 to caution the public against Ebola. South Sudan is particularly concerned because of its proximity to Uganda and the frequency of trade between the two countries.
