Uganda's Ministry of Health has confirmed an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus—with 16 reported deaths—in the west of the central African country, the U.N. World Health Organization (WHO) announced Friday. So far, there have been 51 suspected cases in Bundibugyo District, including three health-care workers who were infected, with one fatality. Those infected have been hospitalized in Kikyo and Bundibugyo. The presence of a new species of the hemorrhagic virus in samples taken from cases associated with the current outbreak has been confirmed by the U.S. National Reference Laboratories and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A task force comprised by WHO, the Ministry of Health, and international partners is coordinating the response to the outbreak.
