Death toll from virus outbreak in Uganda rises to six

The number of people who have died from a Marburg virus outbreak that started in the south-west of Uganda and has now reached the capital has risen to six, the country’s health ministry said Thursday. The highly-infectious disease has spread to three districts -including the capital, Kampala- after it struck in early October in the south-western Kabale district. Nearly 200 people believed to have been in contact with the Marburg victims have been placed under surveillance, Health Minister Christine Ondoa told reporters. She said that 10 per cent of those under surveillance were in Kampala. Marburg virus victims suffer sudden onsets of fever, vomiting, joint pains, headache and internal bleeding. Both Marburg and Ebola spread through direct contact with wounds, saliva, urine or sweat of an infected person or wild animals, like monkeys. An Ebola epidemic hit villages in western Uganda in early July, leaving 17 people dead, but health officials in early October declared it was over.