The Ebola epidemic in Uganda has ended, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Ugandan Minister of Health announced on Wednesday, less than four months after the announcement of the outbreak that killed 55 people, AFP reports, Agerpres reads.

„We have successfully brought the Ebola epidemic in Uganda under control,” said the Minister of Health, Jane Ruth Aceng, during a ceremony organized in Mubende, the epicenter of the epidemic.

According to the WHO, an epidemic is considered over after no new cases are registered for 42 consecutive days, which is twice the incubation period of Ebola.

The last patient confirmed as a carrier of the virus was discharged on November 30, the health authorities announced.

„Uganda declared today (Wednesday) the end of the Ebola epidemic”, the WHO emphasized in a statement, stating that 142 cases and 55 deaths were confirmed in the country.

The disease reappeared on September 20 in central Uganda, after the registration of a first case caused by a „Sudanese” strain, against which there is still no vaccine.

Agerpres