The last known Ebola patient has been discharged from a hospital in Uganda, signaling the country's largest outbreak in nearly two decades may be near its end, according to health officials.
"Happy to announce that we discharged the [last] Ebola patient," Dr. Diana Atwine, a top health official for Uganda's Ministry of Health, said in a Dec. 2 tweet. It's unclear when the newest case was confirmed, though Dr. Atwine said close contacts will continue to be monitored for 21 days from when they were exposed.
Since the outbreak was declared in September, there have been 142 confirmed Ebola cases across nine districts in Uganda, including 56 confirmed deaths.
The last several patients appear to have been discharged from an Ebola treatment center in Uganda's Mubende district, the heart of the outbreak.
"We had a total of 111 patients where 62 of them recovered and 49 died, some of them came very late, but with the grace of God, we have managed to save their lives," Dr. Paskar Apiyo, who heads the Mubende Ebola treatment center, told the Monitor.
"With the experience we have attained here in Mubende, I think if there is another Ebola outbreak in Uganda, more people are going to survive. We are going to write what has been here and it will change the story about Ebola," Dr. Apiyo said.