Rapid establishment of a frontline field laboratory in response to an imported outbreak of Ebola virus disease in western Uganda, June 2019

by Amy J. Schuh, Jackson Kyondo, James Graziano, Stephen Balinandi, Markus H. Kainulainen, Alex Tumusiime, Luke Nyakarahuka, Sophia Mulei, Jimmy Baluku, William Lonergan, Oren Mayer, Rastus Masereka, Fredrick Masereka, Esther Businge, Alphonse Gatare, Loice Kabyanga, Samuel Muhindo, Raymond Mugabe, Issa Makumbi, Joshua Kayiwa, Milton Makoba Wetaka, Vance Brown, Joseph Ojwang, Lisa Nelson, Monica Millard, Stuart T. Nichol, Joel M. Montgomery, Celine H. Taboy, Julius J. Lutwama, John D. Klena The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) declared an Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in North Kivu in August 2018. By June 2019, the outbreak had spread to 26 health zones in northeastern DRC, causing>2,000 reported cases and>1,000 deaths. On June 10, 2019, three members of a Congolese family with EVD-like symptoms traveled to western Uganda ’s Kasese District to seek medical care. Shortly thereafter, the Viral Hemorrhagic Fever Surveillance and Laboratory Program (VHF program) at the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) confirmed that all three patients had EVD. The Ugandan Ministry of Health declared an outbreak of EVD in Uganda’ s Kasese District, notified the World Health Organization, and initiated a rapid response to contain the outbreak. As part of this response, UVRI and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with the support of Uganda’s Public Health Emergency Operations Center, the Kasese Dis trict Health Team, the Superintendent of Bwera Gene...
Source: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases - Category: Tropical Medicine Authors: Source Type: research