KAMPALA, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Uganda's ministry of health said on Sunday there is no Ebola outbreak in the country.
Sarah Opendi, state minister for health, said in a statement that a 35-year-old man died on May 21 in the southwestern district of Kakumiro from Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF), not Ebola.
The man, who was first admitted to Melt Care Clinic before being transferred to Mubende regional referral hospital, presented high fever and vomiting for two days.
"The ministry of health has noted with concern reports of an Ebola outbreak in Mubende district making rounds across the different media platforms," Opendi said in the statement.
"We would like to inform the public that there is no Ebola outbreak in Mubende or any other part of the country," she said. "What was quoted in the media is rather a case of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever."
The denial followed social media reports that claimed an Ebola outbreak in the east African country and that the authorities were trying to suppress the information.
The minister said a rapid response team, with members from the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization, has been dispatched to Mubende to collect more information and help the district contain the spread of CCHF.
"We appeal to the general public to immediately report any cases presenting with high grade fevers and bleeding tendencies to the nearest health facility," Opendi said.
"The government of Uganda is working towards the control of ticks which are the main agents in the transmission of CCHF from animals to humans," she said.
The minister said the authorities continue to screen travelers at Entebbe International Airport, especially those from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which is experiencing an Ebola outbreak.
"The screening targets all passengers who have had a history of travel of not less than 21 days to the DRC," Opendi said.
The Ebola virus is highly contagious and causes a range of symptoms including fever, vomiting, diarrhea, generalized pain or malaise and in many cases internal and external bleeding.
Mortality rates of Ebola fever, according to the World Health Organization, are extremely high, with the human case-fatality rate ranging from 50 percent to 89 percent, depending on viral sub-type.