A medical worker disinfects a tent used for suspected Ebola victims at the Madudu Health Center III isolation center (Photo: AP)

Uganda’s deadliest Ebola outbreak in 20 years is finally “over,” the World Health Organization has declared.

At least 55 people, including six health workers, have died since the outbreak was announced in September.

The virus has spread to nine districts, including the capital Kampala, raising fears of a snowball effect in the East African region.

However, the WHO confirmed at the end of the nearly four-month outbreak that no new cases had been recorded in the country in the past 42 days.

Health Minister Dr Jane Ruth Aceng Ocero said: “Uganda swiftly ended the Ebola outbreak by stepping up key control measures such as surveillance, contact tracing and infection, prevention and control.

“As we expanded our efforts to get a strong response in the nine affected counties, the panacea was our communities understanding the importance of doing what it takes to end the outbreak and take action.”

MUBENDE, UGANDA - OCTOBER 13: Red Cross workers wear personal protective equipment before burying a 3-year-old boy suspected of having died from Ebola on October 13, 2022 in Mubende, Uganda. After 17 recorded deaths and 48 confirmed cases of an Ebola virus outbreak, Ugandan health authorities have set up emergency teams, isolation centers and treatment tents around the central Mubende district. On September 19, the first death of this outbreak from the Ebola Sudan virus strain was announced and there is still no vaccine for this strain. (Photo by Luke Dray/Getty Images)

Red Cross workers don personal protective equipment before burying a three-year-old boy suspected of dying of Ebola on Oct. 13 (Photo: Getty)

This outbreak was the first in a decade of the less common Sudanese strain of Ebola.

Unlike the Zaire strain, which has caused outbreaks in neighboring Congo in recent years, there is no proven vaccine or treatment.

Ebola, which can manifest as a hemorrhagic fever, is spread through contact with bodily fluids or contaminated material from an infected person.

In all, there were 164 cases, 55 confirmed deaths, and 87 recovered patients.

More than 4,000 people who came into contact with confirmed cases were tracked and their health monitored for 21 days.

Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Director for Africa, said: “Without vaccines and treatments, this has been one of the most challenging Ebola outbreaks of the past five years.

“Two months ago, it seemed that Ebola would cast a dark shadow over the country well into 2023, when the outbreak reached major cities such as Kampala and Jinja.

“But this victory starts the year with great hope for Africa.”

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