Congolese girl diagnosed with Ebola in Uganda dies

What you need to know:

  • In June, three members of a single family tested positive for Ebola in Uganda after entering from DR Congo. Two died in Uganda, while the third succumbed to the disease after returning to DR Congo.

A nine-year-old girl who tested positive for Ebola in Uganda after travelling from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo has died, a Ugandan health official told AFP on Friday.

"She passed on at around 0800 (0500 GMT) this morning," said Yusuf Baseka, health director in Kasese, a district in southwestern Uganda along the border with DR Congo.

The child, who is of Congolese origin, was diagnosed after exhibiting symptoms at a border crossing in Kasese district on Wednesday.

She was subsequently isolated and transferred to an Ebola treatment unit.

Dr Henry Mwebesa, the Director General at Ministry of Health told Daily Monitor on Friday that the body would be repatriated to DR Congo later in the day.

The girl is the fourth victim diagnosed with Ebola in Uganda to have died from the haemorrhagic fever.

In June, three members of a single family tested positive for Ebola in Uganda after entering from DR Congo. Two died in Uganda, while the third succumbed to the disease after returning to DR Congo.

Uganda has been on high alert since the start of an Ebola outbreak in neighbouring DR Congo in August 2018.

Health officials in DR Congo said Friday that the death toll from that epidemic had crossed 2,000 people.

Additional reporting by LILIAN NAMAGEMBE