Residents of Mukwanga zone in Buwenge town council, Jinja district were on Friday sent into panic mode after a 48-year-old man, Anthony Mutebe collapsed to death in the trading centre after exhibiting Ebola-like symptoms.  

Mutebe's body which had blood spills from the eyes, mouth, nose, and ears, was left in the open for several hours for fear of spreading a suspected contagious disease. 

Prior to his death, Mutebe reportedly vomited blood for nearly ten minutes before collapsing, prompting the residents to alert the police authorities. The police cordoned off the scene and prevented curious residents along with family members who had converged in the area from getting in contact with the deceased. 

By 1.00 pm the residents became impatient waiting for the Jinja district health surveillance teams, and several individuals, including children, started to stroll in to pay their last respects to their deceased neighbour, touching his forehead as is the tradition in the area, raising more health concerns over the further spread of the suspected disease. Musa Magumba, the Buwenge town council councillor stated that Mutebe was confirmed dead at around 8:00 am.

A surveillance team from Buwenge health centre IV led by Pauline Akiror arrived later and extracted samples from the deceased for further analysis at the Uganda Virus Research Institute to ascertain the exact cause of death. Only 30 select family members were allowed at the burial and social distancing was also strictly observed.

Uganda was only declared Ebola-free on January 11 this year by the World Health Organisation following its seventh Ebola outbreak late last year that claimed over 55 lives with a case fatality of 39 per cent. The first case was confirmed on September 20, 2022, in Mubende district, western Uganda before the virus got spread to other districts of Kassanda, Kyegegwa, Kagadi, Bunyangabu, Wakiso, Jinja, Masaka and Kampala. A total of 143 cases (85 males and 58 females) were confirmed with 22 probable cases and 87 recoveries. By URN, The Observer