Gulu, Uganda - An excellent initial response from local health workers and the quick arrival of United Nations and United States experts has effectively slowed an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus which should be contained soon, officials said Thursday.
At least 41 people have already died from the highly infectious disease and doctors fear another 70 may be infected, said Okat Lokach, the Gulu District health director.
Pierre Rollin, the leader of a US Centres for Disease Control team that arrived on Thursday, said investigators have identified the virus as Ebola Sudan, a strain last seen in southern Sudan in 1979.
The diagnosis raised the possibility that Ugandan rebels, which have bases in southern Sudan, may have inadvertently introduced the disease during their regular attacks around Gulu, 362km north of Kampala.
'What was started a week ago is going to pay off soon' The Lord's Resistance Army has been fighting a 13-year war against the government of President Yoweri Museveni, and are best known for kidnapping school children and turning them into sex slaves or child soldiers.
The Ugandan ambassador in London told the BBC that he suspected the LRA of bringing Ebola to Uganda, which has never recorded an outbreak before. Other officials quietly repeat the accusation, though none will discuss their suspicions publicly.
Ebola Sudan is one of two strains of Ebola, a very rare type of hemorraghic fever. Ebola Zaire was discovered along the Ebola river in north-eastern Congo in 1976. Ebola Sudan was first recorded along the same river in southern Sudan in 1977 and is considered slightly less deadly, though only two outbreaks have ever been recorded until now and few statistics are available.
World Health Organisation experts heaped praise on local health workers for their efforts to contain the disease. Once the virus was identified, doctors and nurses moved quickly to adopt advanced treatment techniques to minimise infections. A radio campaign also reached the largely rural and illiterate population, informing them what precautions to take.
"If I compare this to my previous experiences, the facilities here are outstanding compared to the classic Ebola situation," said Dr Guenael Rodier, the WHO team leader, who has worked on every Ebola Zaire outbreak since 1986.
'I am very proud' He said the mortality and transmission rates have been minimal due to "barrier nursing" techniques, which involve wearing surgical gear and being exceptionally careful to avoid contamination from infected people.
"What was started a week ago is going to pay off soon," Rodier said, adding that government support had also been excellent in getting medical supplies to Gulu.
The first Ebola case was admitted to Lacor Hospital in late September but doctors did not immediately recognize it as hemorraghic fever. A doctor and two nursing students died within days. A blood sample was then sent to South Africa for testing and the outbreak was officially confirmed on October 14.
Since then, experts from WHO, aid workers from Doctors without Borders and investigators from CDC have advised the Ugandans. Four epidemiologists and two microbiologists from CDC arrived on Thursday, bringing laboratory equipment to separate those infected from cases with similar symptoms, and to research the source of the disease.
Ebola is passed through contact with bodily fluids, but is not airborne. The virus incubates for between four and 10 days before flu-like symptoms set in. Eventually, the virus causes severe internal bleeding, vomiting and diarrhea.
There is no cure for Ebola, but patients treated with aggressive rehydration therapy have a chance of survival, Rodier said. Typically, between 80 percent and 90 percent of Ebola Zaire victims die, but Rodier estimated that as many as 50 percent of the patients in Gulu may recover because of good, early medical attention.
Ugandan doctors attributed the response to a culture that places special emphasis on health and education. Uganda was home to the first medical school in East Africa and is the only African country that has slowed HIV infection rates. The emphasis on reducing HIV - another virus carried in bodily fluids, but with a 100 percent fatality rate - prepared the Ugandans for Ebola.
Dr Felix Kaducu, the medical superintendent at Gulu Hospital, said that once they knew what they were dealing with, they knew what to do. He said the staff were very frightened, but that none had fled, a common problem in past outbreaks.
"It's a new experience, they've never been confronted with this," Kaducu said. "So in a week they learned about the disease, learned the proper way to treat it and then started responding. I am very proud." - Sapa-AP
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