Speaking during a media briefing at the Uganda Media Centre on Tuesday, Health Minister Dr Chris Baryomunsi announced that the country is now Ebola-free, marking the conclusion of months of intensified surveillance and response measures.
"The Ministry of Health is pleased to announce that Uganda has officially declared the end of the 2026 Ebola disease outbreak. So today, as we speak now, Uganda is Ebola-free," Baryomunsi said.
The declaration follows the successful completion of the 42-day countdown, which began on June 16, 2026, after the discharge of the last Ugandan patient, a locally transmitted case.
Although Uganda discharged its final Ebola patient on July 16, 2026, at the Mulago National Referral Hospital isolation centre in Kampala, the patient was a Congolese national whose case was treated as an imported infection.
Baryomunsi explained that health authorities based the countdown on the discharge date of the last Ugandan patient because the Congolese national had entered the country hidden in a cargo truck and had no identified contacts in Uganda.
"I must hasten to add that we are counting from the last Ugandan national who was discharged because the last case that was discharged was a Congolese national who came hiding in a cargo truck. He had no contacts at all," he said.
The minister said the outbreak originated from a documented importation event, with health authorities successfully tracing the source of infection and establishing all transmission links.
He said all confirmed cases were epidemiologically linked, while identified contacts completed the required 21-day monitoring period without developing symptoms.
Baryomunsi attributed the successful containment of the outbreak to strengthened surveillance systems, rapid diagnosis, digital contact tracing and coordinated case management.
During the outbreak response, health authorities maintained nationwide surveillance to detect possible new infections and prevent further transmission.
The minister urged the public to remain vigilant and continue observing recommended public health measures, noting that Uganda remains prepared to respond quickly to future disease outbreaks.
The declaration brings to an end a period of heightened public health response following the confirmation of Ebola cases in Uganda in 2026.