I Think We Last Covered A Border Outbreak In Uganda In Nov. 2018 -- Four Years Later, Another One; Ebola Continues...

Here was that post, though we've seen several outbreaks in DRC, Sierra Leone and Tanzania since.

It is always difficult news when a new flare up occurs. Even so, I suppose the smallish better news is that with "contacts of contacts" / ring vaccinations. . . and the wide availability of sufficient stock of the Merck / NewLinks vaccine. . . this outbreak, like all the others post-2019. . . have been (and likely will be) relatively short-lived and well contained.

But make no mistake: it still kills over 80 per cent of the patients who contract it. So -- especially in the case of health workers, extreme vigilance is required. Here's the overnight AllAfrica.com bit, from Mubende District, Uganda:

. . .In a statement on Friday evening, the ministry said in a period of 24 hours four new Ebola cases were confirmed in Mubende to bring the cumulative number of cases to 11.

"Three new deaths were recorded, bringing the total number of cumulative deaths to 11. Of these, eight deaths were from community whereas three are facility based," the ministry said.

However, the 11 deaths include the first eight people who died after presenting signs and symptoms similar to Ebola and were buried before samples were taken to be tested for the virus.

This happened a few weeks ago before the ministry declared the virus in Mubende district.

"There are 25 cases on admission, out of which six are confirmed while 19 are suspected. The Ministry of Health rapid response teams remain on ground to conduct contact tracing and follow up for all contacts to the confirmed cases. Cumulatively, a total of 58 contacts have been listed. . . ."

Now you know. And we know that the case may easily be made that, in the main. . . vaccines are perhaps the most astonishingly successful innovation (in public health). . . in the history of. . . human history. Without them, it is not far-fetched to imagine that humans might have been all but eradicated from the face of the Earth by now, between Marburgs, Ebola, Avian flues, COVID or even a resurgent mutated version of the 1918-style flu. Especially since globe-hopping airline travel (and easily spreading from host to host) has become ubiquitous in 21^st Century life. [And that's before we consider the miracle that the polio vaccine represents.]

G'night to all of good will. Smile.

नमस्ते