Uganda's second Ebola death was a four-and-a-half-year-old child

The Ugandan capital Kampala has recorded its second death from Ebola, a four-and-a-half-year-old child.

Uganda's Ministry of Health said in a statement on Saturday that the child had developed typical Ebola symptoms on February 25 at the Mulago National Referral Hospital, north of Kampala, and that he had later died.

The statement said that since the outbreak of a new round of Sudanese-type Ebola virus in Uganda on January 30 this year, a total of 10 cases have been confirmed as of March 1, and the first case, Patient Zero, and the 10th case have died from infection. The other eight confirmed cases were discharged from hospital on February 18 and 19 after being treated in isolation.

Uganda's Ministry of Health said it is still actively responding to the Ebola outbreak, including contact tracing, screening outbound travelers, and vaccinating all contacts.

The first fatality was a nurse. Uganda has reported Ebola outbreaks several times in its history. The last Ebola outbreak in the country began in September 2022 and was later declared over on January 11, 2023, during which time there were 164 cases and 77 deaths.

Ebola is a severe acute infectious disease caused by a virus with a high fatality rate. It is mainly transmitted through contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person, and symptoms include fever, bleeding and organ failure.