Ebola in Uganda (Update 3)
19 Mar 2025
From the beginning of the outbreak of Ebola (Sudan) virus disease (SVD) that was declared in Uganda on 30 January 2025 to 5 March 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO) has reported a total of 14 cases including 4 deaths.
Cases have been reported from 6 districts of Uganda: Jinja, Kampala, Kyegegwe, Mbale, Ntoroko and Wakiso.
Advice to travellers
The risk to travellers becoming infected or developing Ebola is extremely low.
- If you are travelling to a known Ebola outbreak area, you must be aware of the risk of infection and transmission routes of Ebola virus.
- If you are medical personnel travelling to work in an outbreak region, you must follow strict infection prevention control guidance.
You can minimise your risk of becoming infected or developing Ebola by:
- avoiding direct contact with blood or bodily fluids of people who appear unwell, or touching the bodies of those who have died
- avoiding touching potentially contaminated linen, clothing, or personal items from unwell people
- avoiding close contact with wild animals and consumption of ‘bush meat’ from these animals
- avoiding having unprotected sexual intercourse
If you are travelling to the affected areas to work in response to the outbreak, seek risk assessment advice and training from your employer / organisation before travel. You must also be registered with the UKHSA Ebola and Marburg: returning workers scheme (RWS) before travel.
General Travel Advice
You can reduce your risk of becoming unwell with more common travel-related diseases in Uganda, including malaria by:
- reading the country-specific advice for information on advisable vaccinations, malaria and other health risks for Uganda
- making sure you are up-to-date with routine vaccines for life in the UK
- know how to avoid mosquito bites and other insect bites
- take care with respiratory hygiene precautions and wash your hands often
- taking safe food and water precautions when travelling
If you think you may need vaccines, malaria advice and/or tablets, you should have a travel health risk assessment.
After Travel
If you become ill when abroad, you should seek medical advice as soon as possible.
After returning to the UK if you develop a high temperature (fever) with or without additional symptoms (such as a headache, joint and muscle pain, sore throat, stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, unexplained bleeding / bruising), and you have:
- returned to the UK within 21 days from a region or area with a known outbreak of Ebola
- had contact with individuals infected with a VHF
You should seek rapid medical attention by calling NHS 24 (Scotland) or NHS 111 (rest of UK), or by contacting your GP practice by telephone for advice.
- Always remember to mention your recent travel history, and if you have travelled to a country where malaria is present as this will help identify what the problem could be.
For further information, see the fitfortravel Viral Haemorrhagic Fever page.