The Minister of Health Dr. Chris Baryomunsi, has declared Uganda Ebola free following the successful completion of the mandatory 42-day monitoring period, which began after the discharge of the last Ugandan national, a locally transmitted patient on June 16th.
“Throughout this period, the Ministry of Health maintained intensive surveillance nationwide, and no new Ebola cases have been detected” he said.
Dr Baryomunsi, noted that unlike previous Ebola outbreaks that informed the current 42-day declaration policy, Uganda’s 2026 Ebola outbreak arose from a fully documented importation event. “The source of infection was identified, the route of introduction established, all confirmed cases were epidemiologically linked, transmission chains were completely characterised and reconstructed” he said.
He added, “All identified contacts were institutionally quarantined and completed the mandatory 21-day follow-up without evidence of further transmission. Enhanced surveillance has detected no unexplained community transmission”.
Dr Baryomunsi further noted that the ministry recognises that the long-standing 42-day criterion has served the global public health community well, and remains an essential safeguard in outbreaks where transmission is uncertain or ongoing.
“However, where an outbreak results from a fully characterised imported event and epidemiological closure has been conclusively demonstrated, a fixed time interval alone may no longer represent the only basis for determining that transmission has ended” he said.
He further noted that Uganda has been able to curb the outbreak due to strong investments in the country’s public health systems.
“Our ability to quickly detect cases, trace and monitor contacts, provide quality treatment, strengthen laboratory services, and work closely with communities ensured that the outbreak was rapidly brought under control” he said.
Uganda declared the Ebola outbreak on 15th May 2026 following the confirmation of imported cases from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
During the outbreak, Uganda registered a total of 20 confirmed cases, of whom 18 recovered while 2 sadly lost their lives.
Of these cases, 15 were imported from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), while 5 were Ugandan nationals who acquired the infection as care workers of the imported cases.
