WEEKLY BULLETIN ON OUTBREAKS
AND OTHER EMERGENCIES
Week 10: 3 - 9 March 2025
Data as reported by: 17:00; 9 March 2025
...
Uganda
Mpox
3 833 Cases
31 Deaths
0.8% CFR
EVENT DESCRIPTION
The mpox outbreak in Uganda continues to unfold, with
new cases being reported across the country. Between
11 February and 4 March 2025, a total of 937 new
confirmed cases with 12 deaths were reported from 63
districts across the country.
The majority of these new
cases emerged from high-density urban and peri-urban
areas, with Kampala accounting for 368 cases, followed
by Wakiso (n=107), Mbarara (n=64), and Mukono
(n=50). These four districts together accounted for
62.9% of the new cases. Of the 12 new deaths, Kampala
reported the highest number (n=4), followed by Masaka
City (n=3), and other affected districts such as Kalungu,
Nakasongola, Mbarara, Wakiso, and Mukono, each
contributing one death.
As of 4 March 2025, a cumulative total of 3 833 confirmed
mpox cases with 31 deaths (CFR 0.8%) have been
reported from 95 out of 146 districts in Uganda since
the outbreak began on 24 July 2024. Males are more
affected, accounting for 56.6% (n=2,169) of the total
cases. Most cases are among people in the age group
18 to 39 years, accoounting for close to 70% of all cases
reported across the country. The majority of deaths have
been reported from Kampala (n=15), followed by Wakiso
(n=5), Masaka City (n=3), and Mukono (n=2). Additional
deaths have occurred in Kikuube, Pallisa, Mbarara,
Kalungu, Nakasongola, and Masindi, with one death
reported from each of these districts.
The outbreak remains largely concentrated in and
around the capital, Kampala. So far, clade 1b MPXV,
linked to the outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic
of the Congo, has been detected in the country, and
current evidence indicates that transmission of the virus
is occurring exclusively through close, physical human
to-human contact. Uganda currently reports the second
highest number of confirmed mpox cases in the African
Region following the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
PUBLIC HEALTH ACTIONS
An Incident Management Team, led by the Ministry of
Health with technical support from WHO and health
partners, continues to coordinate the national response to
the outbreak. Weekly meetings are held, including partner
engagements, to inform outbreak response strategies
and activities.
Task forces setup in the affected districts are supporting
national response efforts by coordinating field-level
operations.
Surveillance for mpox is ongoing across all districts in
Uganda. Mpox remains one of the country’s priority
diseases for immediate notification through the Integrated
Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) strategy.
In affected districts, surveillance efforts are being
enhanced through the dissemination of case definitions
to surveillance officers and clinicians to facilitate early
detection and reporting of cases. Active case searches
in communities, schools, and other communal places
are ongoing, along with contact tracing activities in the
affected districts.
Laboratory capacity is in place for diagnostics and
genomic sequencing. All suspected cases are routinely
tested to confirm or rule out mpox virus infection. Training
on mpox sample management has been conducted to
ensure proper collection, handling, and transportation of
samples. A sample referral system is in place.
Isolation units have been set up in affected districts for
the management of cases. Bi-weekly case management
webinars are being held to refresh clinicians on
management of mpox cases.
The risk communication and community engagement
(RCCE) pillar continues to analyze and leverage
community feedback insights to develop messaging that
raises awareness, promotes preventive practices, and
encourages early reporting and care-seeking behaviour.
SITUATION INTERPRETATION
The ongoing mpox outbreak in Uganda is occurring
concurrently with outbreaks of Sudan virus disease
and cholera, straining the country’s resources to
manage these simultaneous public health events. The
concentration of mpox cases in urban and peri-urban
areas suggests that close physical contact in crowded,
densely-populated environments may be driving
sustained transmission of the virus. Uganda’s robust
surveillance and reporting system likely accounts for the
high number of confirmed cases reported.
The presence
of clade 1b, which is associated with higher virulence,
in the Ugandan outbreak emphasizes the urgency of
controlling its spread to prevent further hospitalizations,
complications, and deaths. Health authorities must
prioritize understanding the transmission dynamics of
the virus and implement tailored public health response
strategies to halt ongoing transmission and mitigate the
impact of the outbreak.
https://www.afro.who.int/health-topics/disease-outbreaks/outbreaks-and-other-emergencies-updates