Ebola patient dies in Uganda

A second person has died of Ebola in Uganda, just days after the first case was detected in the country, the health ministry said on Thursday.

The 50-year-old woman who died on Wednesday night was the grandmother of a 5-year-old boy who became the country’s first victim of the highly infectious virus after returning from a trip to Congo, where over 1,000 people had died in the latest outbreak.

A 3-year-old child was also confirmed to have the disease and is still hospitalised.

Seven other people suspected of having Ebola are also in an isolation ward near the border with north-east Congo.

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“She passed on yesterday at Bwera health centre but the baby, her grandson, is still alive,’’ health ministry spokesman Emmanuel Ainebyoona told dpa.

The government has stepped up health control measures among communities along the Congo border.

These include urging people to wash their hands with soap, avoid shaking hands or hugging and report people with Ebola-like symptoms.

Authorities are also telling people to avoid large gatherings in places of worship and at markets, as well as funerals and weddings.