Uganda declares itself Ebola-free as Congo continues to struggle with the outbreak

Rodney Muhumuza, Associated Press Rodney Muhumuza, Associated Press KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Authorities in Uganda declared the East Africa nation free of Ebola on Tuesday following the discharge of the country's last patient in mid-June, a delicate milestone as the virus continues to plague neighboring Congo. Uganda has maintained since the outset that its cases were linked to the larger outbreak in eastern Congo's remote province of Ituri, which borders Uganda. The first cases in Uganda were Congolese who crossed the border to seek treatment for an unknown illness before it was known they had Ebola, health authorities have said. After what health officials believe was weeks of transmission, Congo announced its outbreak on May 15, the same day that Uganda confirmed two Ebola cases — including a man who had already died.

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