Uganda warns traditional healers not to treat sick people after Ebola outbreak

A total of 19 people have died from the disease in the East African country so far

Medical laboratory assistant Mellon Kyomugisha, who said she was the first to examine the first confirmed Ebola victim when he came to St Florence Clinic with malaria, takes a blood sample from a toddler at the clinic in Madudu, Uganda, on Wednesday, September 28. In this remote Ugandan community facing its first Ebola outbreak, testing trouble has added to the challenges with symptoms of the Sudan strain of Ebola being similar to malaria, underscoring the pitfalls health workers face in their response. AP

An attendant disinfects the boots of a medical officer before leaving the Ebola isolation section of Mubende Regional Referral Hospital, in Mubende, Uganda. September 29, 2022. AP

A pupil revises in a classroom at Madudu Catholic Church school, where many are staying away owing to the risk of Ebola. AP

A medical officer from the Uganda Red Cross Society instructs people with suspected Ebola symptoms to enter an ambulance, in Madudu, near Mubende. AP

Doctors pray before entering the Ebola isolation section of Mubende Regional Referral Hospital. AP

A woman passes a sign with telephone numbers for Ebola help hotlines at the St Florence Clinic in Madudu, near Mubende. AP

Relatives of a woman who died from Ebola prepare her grave in Kijavuzo village, Mubende district. AP

Doctors at the Ebola isolation section of Mubende Regional Referral Hospital. AP

A medical attendant near a sign explaining to patients about the symptoms of Ebola at the entrance to Mubende Regional Referral Hospital. AP

Boots hung up to dry after being disinfected outside the Ebola isolation section of Mubende Regional Referral Hospital. AP

A medical attendant disinfects a man's gloves before leaving the Ebola isolation section of Mubende Regional Referral Hospital. AP

Nurse Edgar Muhindo, left, at St Florence Clinic in Madudu, which unknowingly treated two Ebola patients for malaria before they sought care elsewhere. AP

Books abandoned in a classroom at Madudu Catholic Church school. AP

Farmer Margaret Nakanyike, one of those herded into the isolation unit after two members of her household showed signs of Ebola, says she was lucky to escape infection. AP

Doctors at the Ebola isolation section of Mubende Regional Referral Hospital. AP

A teacher takes a primary school class at Madudu Catholic Church school, where many pupils stayed away owing to the risk of Ebola. AP

A man studies an Ebola awareness campaign poster after an outbreak of the disease. Kampala, Uganda, September 28, 2022. EPA

Uganda has ordered traditional healers to stop treating sick people to try to halt the spread of Ebola.

Nineteen people have so far died from the disease in the East African country.

“Witch doctors, traditionalists and herbalists should not accept sick people now. Suspend what you are doing,” Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said in a televised speech on Wednesday.

“There is no witchcraft here. Ebola is a disease. The communities in the affected areas should know Ebola is deadly and spreads through contact with the affected person.”

He said security officials should arrest anyone suspected of contracting the haemorrhagic fever if they will not to go into isolation.

World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday that clinical trials could start within weeks on vaccines to combat the Sudan strain of the disease, which is behind a deadly outbreak in Uganda.

In September, Uganda announced its first death from the highly contagious disease since 2019.

The WHO said there were 54 confirmed cases and 19 deaths since the outbreak was first reported in the central district of Mubende on September 20.

Mr Museveni said one fatal case had been recorded in Kampala. A man, 45, of Congolese origin fled isolation in Mubende after a relative died before seeking help from a witch doctor.

The man died of the disease in a hospital in the capital, Mr Museveni said. He said about 24 people who had been in contact with the man were now in quarantine.

Since the initial outbreak in the largely rural landlocked country, infections have been found in five areas including Mubende, according to the WHO.

“Unfortunately, the Ebola vaccines that have been so effective in controlling recent outbreaks in DRC [Democratic Republic of Congo] are not effective against the type of Ebola virus which is responsible for the current outbreak in Uganda,” Mr Tedros told a regional ministerial meeting to discuss the emergency response to the crisis.

“Several vaccines are in various stages of development against this virus, two of which could begin clinical trials in Uganda in the coming weeks, pending regulatory and ethics approvals from the Ugandan government.”

Ebola is named after a river in DRC where it was discovered in 1976. Human transmission is through bodily fluids, with common symptoms being fever, vomiting, bleeding and diarrhoea. Outbreaks are difficult to contain, especially in urban environments.

People who are infected do not become contagious until symptoms appear, which is after an incubation period of between two and 21 days.

The worst epidemic in West Africa killed more than 11,300 people between 2013 and 2016.

Uganda has had several Ebola outbreaks, most recently in 2019 when at least five people died.