By Karim Were
KAMPALA— Uganda has officially been declared Ebola-free, bringing to an end months of heightened surveillance and public health interventions following the 2026 outbreak.
The announcement was made by the Minister for Health, Dr Chris Baryomunsi, who confirmed that the country had successfully interrupted transmission of the deadly virus.
According to the Ministry of Health, the declaration follows the discharge of the last Ugandan Ebola patient on June 16, 2026, and the completion of an intensive monitoring period with no new infections recorded.
Health officials said the 2026 outbreak differed from previous Ebola outbreaks because it originated from a fully documented importation event. The Ministry noted that investigators identified the source of the infection, established the route through which the virus entered the country, and successfully traced all confirmed cases.
The Ministry further said all infections were epidemiologically linked, enabling health authorities to fully reconstruct transmission chains and isolate all identified contacts.
Officials added that every listed contact completed the mandatory 21-day institutional quarantine period without developing Ebola, while enhanced nationwide surveillance has detected no unexplained community transmission.
The declaration marks a significant milestone for Uganda’s public health system, with authorities crediting rapid case detection, effective contact tracing, quarantine measures and coordinated response efforts for containing the outbreak.
Despite the announcement, the Ministry of Health has urged the public and health workers to remain vigilant and continue observing disease surveillance and infection prevention measures to guard against future outbreaks.
