Second Ebola Death in Uganda Sparks Concerns over Surveillance and Containment Second Ebola Death in Uganda Sparks Concerns over Surveillance and Containment Content Editor: Dr. Sakshi March 11, 2025 PHC Editorial Bureau Ebola, International health, Re-emerging diseases A 4-year-old boy became the second Ebola fatality in Uganda, which is raising concerns regarding the containment of the outbreak. The boy passed away on February 25, 2025, in Kampala, after he was hospitalized, WHO reports. The first Ebola casualty was a male nurse who visited several facilities for treatment before passing away on January 30, 2025. Ugandan health authorities had been optimistic that the outbreak was subsiding following eight patients' recovery, but the new fatality undermines such optimism. Contact tracing continues to be crucial, particularly since no vaccines are approved for the Sudan strain of Ebola. More than 20,000 passengers are screened each day for Ebola at border crossings in Uganda, with WHO giving $3 million in assistance. Funding worries are raised because the U.S. government cancelled 60% of USAID contracts, affecting local public health initiatives. USAID contract funding of $27 million for Ebola surveillance was canceled, leaving 85 full-time workers affected. Uganda has previously experienced Ebola outbreaks, once in the year 2000 when an outbreak resulted in hundreds of deaths and again in 2022 that resulted in 55 deaths. Ebola is transmitted through body fluids and is thought to be caused by contact with infected animals or the consumption of raw meat. Other East African nations, Tanzania and Rwanda, have recently experienced outbreaks of similar hemorrhagic fevers such as Marburg.

Yamuna’s Water quality management at peril Yamuna’s Water quality management at peril Content Editor: Dr Sumana Mukhopadhyay November 20, 2023 The Times of India Environment, Water pollution The Delhi Pollution Control Committee failed to present the reports of river quality data for August, September, and October 2023. Reports from the 7th high-level committee meeting on the Yamuna River indicate significant improvements in BOD, COD, and annual fecal coliform levels, in contrast to the previous year. The latest report for September reveals a lack of dissolved oxygen in the river. The committee suggests various measures to improve water quality , which include: 1) sewage treatment, 2) trapping drains, 3) sewerage networks in unauthorized colonies, 4) industrial effluent management, 5) fecal sludge treatment, 6) floodplain control, and 7) Repurpose of treated wastewater