Kampala - Uganda confirmed a new case of Ebola in a 9-year-old
girl in the west of the country, as the number in neighbouring Congo
exceeded the 3,000 mark, authorities reported on Friday.
Despite efforts to stem the epidemic ravaging the Democratic Republic
of the Congo, 3,004 people have been infected with the virus and
2,006 people have died, Congolese authorities said in a report.
Three people have died of the virus in Uganda with the fourth case,
that of the young girl, diagnosed on Thursday.
The Ugandan health ministry said the child, of Congolese origin, had
been diagnosed with Ebola in Bwera village on the border with the
Democratic Republic of Congo.
The girl had travelled to Uganda with her mother on Wednesday to seek
medical care and was identified by the border screening team as
having Ebola-like symptoms. She was admitted to Bwera health centre
where she is being treated, the ministry said in a statement.
Uganda, with assistance of international health organizations, has
deployed dozens of health workers and volunteers along its border
with the Congo to help stem the spread of Ebola.
The Congo, in central Africa, has been battling an Ebola epidemic for
more than a year.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reacted to the latest Ebola
figures by calling for the "full force" of all partners to address
"one of the largest and most complex humanitarian crises in the
world".
"Our commitment to the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
is that we will work alongside them to stop the Ebola outbreak," said
WHO Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who will travel to the
country with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres this weekend.
Efforts to curb Ebola in the volatile Congo have been hampered by
fighting in the region, where various militia groups are operating
and health workers and facilities have been targeted.
Although the WHO says more than 200,000 people have been vaccinated
against the virus, the disease continues to spread.