The Ministry of Health has raised concern over several unauthorised Ebola rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) being sold on the market and in some private health facilities.
According to Dr. Henry Mwebesa, the Director General Services at the Ministry, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has never approved the use of RDTs for confirmation of Ebola disease.
He said PCR is the only authorized testing method and it is being done in government laboratories free of charge at Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI), and the Central Public Health Laboratories (CPHL) mobile lab in Mubende Regional Referral Hospital.
“This practice is illegal and dangerous because it exposes the general public and health workers to the risk of infection. This press release serves to inform the general public that Ebola testing and patient management are restricted to designated government facilities above as of now.”
Mwebesa said this has been because of the high risk posed by a highly infectious virus with an extremely high death rate.
“The restriction on testing and management of Ebola cases is due to the requirement of specialized safety equipment and containment measures that are not available in private health facilities. This also requires well-trained experts with appropriate protective gear and SOPs,” Mwebesa stated.
“MoH encourages the general public and private health facilities to report any Ebola suspect to nearby public health facilities or contact the emergency toll-free line 0800100066.”
In addition, he said this will allow the Ministry to isolate, test, and treat confirmed cases and trace their contacts in order to prevent further transmission of the Ebola virus.
This however comes at a time when the Ministry on Monday registered three new cases of the virus pushing the cumulative confirmed cases to 135.
So far, 62 people have recovered from the latest Ebola outbreak while 53 have succumbed to it.