Disease

Outbreak of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever - Uganda

Uganda’s ministry of health on Friday confirmed the outbreak of the deadly Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever in the northern Uganda district of Agago.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever causes severe fever outbreaks and has a fatality rate of up to 40%.

WHO says the disease is transmitted to humans from ticks and from human to human through coming into contact with blood, secretions and body fluids from affected persons.

The disease has no vaccine available for either humans or animals.

Initial reports in Uganda had said it was the deadly Ebola outbreak but this has been ruled out by health officials.

In the last decade Uganda has reported two outbreaks of the deadly Ebola disease. In 2000, the disease killed 224 people in northern Uganda. More recently in 2012, it killed 17 people in western Uganda.