Ebola Rising

Like other cases, this Ebola II strain has an incubation period of up to 21 days before an infected person experiences symptoms. Earlier Ugandan health ministry inquiries into a so-called "mystery" virus in western Uganda spawned speculative diagnoses of the Marburg virus, a feared hemorrhagic fever similar to Ebola that was successfully contained after an outbreak among Ugandan mine workers last July. Ebola is not airborne, but rather passes through contact with bodily fluids or skin. Studies have shown that in the past it has spread to humans from contact with wild chimpanzees, antelope and gorillas, according to analyses of cases in the Congo, Gabon, and Sierra Leone. And with 13 different primate species, the Bundabigyo region of Uganda has the most variation of primates on earth.

Allegations that the government intentionally concealed the outbreak have swirled through newly beautified Kampala since the announcement of the new Ebola strain last week. Today the state-run New Vision newspaper lashed out against the ministry of health for mishandling the situation, blaming the deaths and new infections of medical staff on the lack of readily available protective gear and underfunded hospitals in the outbreak region.

Dr. Jakson Amone, a senior health ministry official in Bundadisgyo, is concerned about the possibility of the new strain of Ebola spreading across the rest of Uganda and into its relatively populous capital, Kampala. "It's hard to treat something you've never seen before," he says. A task force of local doctors and specialists from the CDC, the World Heath Organization and Doctors Without Borders as well as local and international NGOs are working around the clock to contain the outbreak. "We have plenty of manpower on the ground now. We are going village to village looking to find and isolate new cases," says Amone. A dramatic rise in the number of reported infections in the coming days, he suggests, could be the result of better surveillance and monitoring.

For Dr. Ssesanga, who's anxious to get back to his hospital when he's fully recovered from his bout with the disease, fear and panic are the greatest enemies to containing the outbreak. With more cases confirmed each day, doctors and civilians are staying away from the hospital. As of this morning the usually crowded maternity ward at Bundadigybo was empty. Dr. Scott Mehyre, an American missionary doctor who runs a health clinic in a neighboring village, is down to only three doctors working in shifts clad in isolation suits. "This virus is spreading by the foot of the hills," Ssesanga says, referring to the many people who may be affected but are trying to flee the region. "Running away is the worst thing people can do now."

© 2007