By Tolit Ivan
Gulu City Health Department in partnership with the Office of the Resident City Commissioners has reactivated the Rapid Response Taskforce as the Ministry of Health heightens efforts to contain the spread of Ebola.
The reactivation follows the confirmation of nine cases in Uganda and one death. There are now more than 1,000 suspected Ebola cases in DR Congo, with at least 246 deaths.
The current outbreak has been caused by a rare strain of Ebola known as Bundibugyo, which has no proven vaccine and kills about a third of those infected.
Peter Banya, the Deputy Resident City Commissioner in charge of Laroo-Pece Division, who chaired the reactivation meeting held at the City Boardroom, confirmed the development saying that the taskforce has been task to strengthen surveillance and enforce the Ministry of Health’s standard operating procedures and guidelines aimed at preventing a possible Ebola outbreak in the city.
Ebola first hit Gulu District in October 2000. The outbreak was officially reported on October 8, 2000, and later confirmed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Ugandan Ministry of Health on October 15, 2000.
The devastating epidemic was the first major Ebola outbreak in Uganda and primarily affected Gulu Municipality and Aswa County. Before the outbreak was officially declared over on February 28, 2001, it had resulted in approximately 425 infections and 224 deaths across the region.
