KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Ugandan health authorities on Monday reported two new Ebola cases, bringing the number of infections to seven.
All the cases are linked to the outbreak in neighboring Congo, which appears to have started several days or weeks before Congolese authorities declared it on May 15.
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A 59-year-old Congolese man was admitted to a hospital in Kampala, the Ugandan capital, on May 11, and died three days later, before it was known he was suffering from the Ebola virus. Two other Congolese nationals who sought medical care in Uganda later tested positive for Ebola.
Ugandan health authorities on Saturday confirmed the first local infections: a driver and a health worker exposed to the Congolese patient who died on May 11. Two more health workers at a private hospital in Kampala have since tested positive, the Ministry of Health said Monday.
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"Both patients have been admitted to the designated treatment unit and are now receiving care," Dr. Charles Olaro, the national director of health services, said in a statement.
President Yoweri Museveni has urged Ugandans to " stop shaking hands " as part of measures to avoid infection. He also ordered the postponement of an annual religious event that attracts thousands of pilgrims, from Congo and elsewhere, who converge around a Catholic basilica just outside Kampala by June 3.
Other measures include the temporary suspension of all public transportation and flights between Congo and Uganda.
In Congo, suspected Ebola cases have topped 900, mainly in eastern Ituri province where the ongoing outbreak is centered, authorities said Sunday. The response has been hampered by fear, anger and frustration among locals including attacks on treatment centers, as well as distrust of authorities in a region long plagued by armed violence.
Congo has had more than a dozen Ebola outbreaks over the decades. Health experts say international aid cuts last year by the United States and other rich nations are devastating for eastern Congo because of the region's unique problems.
Aid groups fighting this Ebola outbreak say they don't have the equipment they need, such as face shields and suits to protect health workers from infection, testing kits, and body bags and other materials needed to safely bury the bodies of victims, which can be highly contagious.
The Bundibugyo type of Ebola virus responsible for the outbreak has no approved vaccine or treatment. The outbreak has been declared a global health emergency.
Tracing and isolating Ebola contacts is seen as key to stopping the spread of the disease, which usually manifests as hemorrhagic fever.
A family of fruit bats is believed to be the natural hosts of the viruses that cause Ebola, according to the World Health Organization. Ebola is spread by contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person or contaminated materials.