Re-emergence of Ebola virus disease in Uganda: Should Southeast Asia countries be worried?

Abstract

An outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) (Sudan virus) was first reported in the Republic of Uganda on September 20, 2022. As of November 17, 2022, 151 confirmed cases have been reported, including 55 deaths (with a case fatality rate among confirmed cases of 39%).

During the EVD outbreak in 2013–2016, international travel played a significant role in the spread of the disease across national borders. During that time, several tasks requiring improvement were identified in the World Health Organization (WHO) Southeast Asia Region (SEAR), including inadequate risk communication and risk assessment, data management gaps for surveillance purposes, inadequate capacity in molecular diagnostic techniques, lack of adequate planning for a surge of cases, and inadequate isolation rooms.

It is therefore recommended that all countries of the WHO SEAR revisit their level of Ebola preparedness and address existing gaps. The emergence and rapid global spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have reiterated that the world has become a global village. This was confirmed by the spread of the monkeypox virus with cases reported in the WHO SEAR. Therefore, given the weak health infrastructure in the region, complacency could wreak havoc on the healthcare system if another epidemic emerges without an adequate level of preparedness.