Uganda finds Ebola case beyond outbreak center

Death toll now up to 80

From staff and wire reports

KAMPALA, Uganda -- Health officials in Uganda said Wednesday they have confirmed a case of Ebola far from the northern district that has been the center of the deadly outbreak.

This is the first time a case has been identified beyond the Gulu district, 225 miles (362 kilometers) north of the capital, Kampala, where the outbreak was identified last month.

Sam Okware, director general for health services in the Ugandan Health Ministry, said tests confirmed that a soldier in the town of Mbarara, near the Tanzanian border, had died from the disease.

The soldier, who had been stationed in Gulu before moving to Mbarara, died Friday.

MESSAGE BOARD What can officials do to prevent outbreaks of deadly diseases like Ebola?     INTERACTIVE Trace the history of the Ebola virus

Okware said the Health Ministry was sending a team to Mbarara and had requested assistance from international agencies.

The Health Ministry said five more people had died of Ebola and 12 new cases had been reported between Tuesday and Wednesday, all in the Gulu area. That brings the death toll to 80 and the total number of cases to 251. Health Ministry officials said 117 people have fully recovered from the disease.

Despite the new fatalities and infections, officials said the death rate in Gulu has been declining. They attribute the drop to increased surveillance to detect people who may be infected and improved safety precautions among health workers and the public.

For instance, the ritual burial practice of washing the dead in a communal basin has been banned, because it can expose other people to the disease. Health care workers have also improved isolation and barrier techniques to limit their exposure.

Ebola is transmitted through contact with bodily fluids like blood or saliva. Symptoms include sudden fever, weakness and aches, followed by vomiting, diarrhea and internal and external bleeding.

The origins of the virus and how and why it flares are not known. There is no known cure.

Uganda's Ebola death toll at 54; 10 new cases identified
October 22, 2000
Ebola strain identified; death toll hits 41
October 19, 2000
Ebola outbreak kills 39, infects 63 more in Uganda
October 18, 2000
Ugandan officials try to contain Ebola outbreak
October 16, 2000

Ugandan Ministry of Health
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever
World Health Organization

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.