Uganda ends Ebola outbreak after 42 days without new cases

Uganda declared its Sudan Ebola outbreak over after 42 days passed without a new case since the last confirmed patient was discharged on March 14, 2025, the Ministry of Health said. The World Health Organization’s Africa office said all eight Ebola patients treated in Uganda were released after testing negative twice, 72 hours apart, and the final discharge was officiated by Health Minister Dr. Chris Baryomunsi at Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala.

The last patient was reported by the health ministry to be a Congolese national who made a full recovery. Uganda began the 42-day countdown used to end an Ebola outbreak once the final confirmed patient leaves care and no new infections are detected, a standard that public health officials use to mark the virus as contained.

The outbreak was declared on January 30, 2025, one day after the death of a male nurse at the national referral hospital on January 29. Early in the response, about 45 contacts in the Central region around Kampala and the Eastern region around Mbale were placed under quarantine as health teams traced possible exposure chains and monitored for symptoms.

Uganda’s health ministry and WHO said the outbreak involved eight confirmed cases and one death. A separate WHO social media post later described the January outbreak as having 14 total cases, including 12 laboratory-confirmed infections and two probable cases, with four deaths. The figures were not presented in the same way, but both accounts reflected the rapid effort to isolate patients, trace contacts and stop transmission before it spread further.

Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja urged continued vigilance and observance of Ebola standard operating procedures as the last patients left hospitals, while the health ministry thanked health workers, partners and communities for their support. The announcement came as WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo was spreading fast, keeping pressure on neighboring countries such as Uganda even as this outbreak was brought to a close.