After a tense three months of vigilance and swift health interventions, Uganda has officially declared an end to its latest Ebola outbreak, a major victory against the deadly Sudan strain that has no approved vaccine.

The Ministry of Health announced the good news on Saturday through a post on the X platform, confirming that the East African nation had gone 42 days without a single new case since the last patient was discharged the benchmark for declaring an outbreak over.

“Good news, the current Ebola Sudan Virus Disease outbreak has officially come to an end,” the ministry celebrated, though it did not immediately update the final caseload. As of early March, at least ten infections and two deaths had been confirmed.

The outbreak, first detected on January 30 after the death of a male nurse in the bustling capital of Kampala, sent shockwaves through a city of nearly four million people and across regional borders connecting Uganda to Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, and South Sudan.

Despite the high stakes, Uganda’s seasoned health workers, drawing from decades of experience fighting similar outbreaks, managed to contain the virus swiftly. This marks the country’s ninth encounter with Ebola since it first grappled with the virus in 2000.

Ebola, a fearsome virus transmitted through contact with infected bodily fluids, causes severe symptoms including intense headaches, vomiting of blood, muscle pain, and widespread bleeding. Uganda’s tropical forests, natural reservoirs for the virus, mean outbreaks remain a persistent risk.

Uganda’s swift action once again showcased how preparation, public health vigilance, and community mobilization can turn the tide against even the deadliest viral threats.