Uganda Discharges Last Ebola Patient, Begins 42-Day Ebola-Free Countdown

KAMPALA — Uganda has discharged its last confirmed Ebola patient from the isolation centre at Mulago National Referral Hospital, triggering the mandatory 42-day countdown after which the country can officially be declared Ebola-free — and immediately began lobbying countries that have imposed travel restrictions to lift them without waiting for the countdown to end.

The last patient, a Congolese national who fully recovered after treatment at the Mulago National Isolation Centre, was handed a discharge certificate at a ceremony presided over by Health Minister Dr Chris Baryomunsi on Thursday morning. Uganda declared the outbreak on May 15, 2026, and has recorded 20 confirmed cases and two deaths — 15 of the cases were imported from the Democratic Republic of Congo and five were locally acquired.

Baryomunsi described the discharge as “a moment of joy” but was careful not to declare victory. “Discharging the last patient does not mean that we are now Ebola-free. The international guidelines require us to begin a countdown. If we do not register any positive case during the next 42 days, Uganda will then be declared Ebola-free,” he said, urging communities in border districts with DRC to remain especially vigilant.

The economic pressure behind Uganda’s push to lift travel restrictions is significant. Fifteen countries currently maintain either partial or full travel restrictions on Uganda following the outbreak, measures the government says have crippled tourism, trade, and business despite the country’s relatively successful response. Most strikingly, the United States has placed Uganda on a Level 4 travel advisory against all travel due to the Ebola outbreak — the same category as North Korea, Somalia, Afghanistan, and Russia. As we make progress in managing this disease, we are engaging and asking those countries with a view to opening up so that the economy does not get injured,” Baryomunsi said.

What makes Uganda’s response genuinely remarkable is the mortality data. WHO representative in Uganda Dr Kasonde Mwinga said the country’s case fatality rate of under 10% is among the lowest ever recorded in an Ebola outbreak — historically the rate has never gone below 30%. “That is not by luck. It is because people invested in preparedness,” she said, pointing to pre-positioned treatment centres, trained emergency medical teams, and established response protocols that were in place before the first case was confirmed.

The contrast with neighbouring DRC makes the 42-day countdown anything but guaranteed. The DRC reported 2,073 confirmed cases and 796 deaths as of July 14, with the Bundibugyo strain outbreak — declared a public health emergency in May — continuing to spread in eastern Congo. Uganda has already sent 50 health workers and four laboratories to four locations in DRC under a bilateral memorandum of understanding between Presidents Museveni and Félix Tshisekedi, specifically aimed at containing the outbreak before more Congolese seek medical care in Uganda. Baryomunsi said additional personnel would be deployed if the situation required it.

Meanwhile, the scientific community has moved quickly alongside Uganda’s outbreak. Oxford University’s Oxford Vaccine Group this week launched the world’s first Phase I clinical trial of BD-Ebov, a vaccine candidate targeting the Bundibugyo strain, with the first patient already enrolled. No licensed vaccine exists for this strain, and Uganda has committed to participating in further vaccine studies as opportunities arise.

If the 42-day countdown runs without interruption, Uganda would be declared Ebola-free around late August 2026 — provided the border with DRC holds and surveillance in the country’s eastern districts catches any new transmission before it spreads.