The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday asked U.S. physicians to watch for cases of Ebola, which has been surging in Uganda in recent weeks.
As of Thursday, there were 44 confirmed cases and 10 deaths in Uganda, with a few dozen possible cases and 20 deaths still under investigation, making this the largest outbreak in that country in 20 years. At least six infections and four deaths occurred among health care workers.
No cases have yet been reported outside Uganda, and American doctors are being alerted as a precaution, according to the agency’s alert. There are no approved drugs or treatments for the type of Ebola virus causing the outbreak in Uganda.
The agency urged physicians to obtain a travel history from patients whom they suspect of having Ebola.
“While there are no direct flights from Uganda to the United States, travelers from or passing through affected areas in Uganda can enter the United States on flights connecting from other countries,” the C.D.C. alert said.
Ebola is a rare and deadly disease, seen mostly in sub-Saharan Africa. The infection begins with mild respiratory symptoms, but left untreated can rapidly damage internal organs.
Patients eventually bleed from their eyes, nose, mouth and rectum — dramatic symptoms that have stoked fear of the virus. Ebola kills about half of those infected on average, usually within two weeks of the appearance of symptoms.
The outbreak was first detected in Mubende, Uganda, but has already spread to four other districts in a 75-mile radius. There will be many more cases and deaths before the virus can be contained, said Dr. Fiona Braka, emergency operations manager at the W.H.O. regional office for Africa, based in Brazzaville.
“We are concerned because we still haven’t reached the peak,” Dr. Braka said.
The virus was circulating undetected for some time, and even after the first patient was diagnosed, health officials have been able to trace only three-quarters of the people who may have been exposed, Dr. Braka said.
The remaining contacts have scattered, raising the possibility that cases will sprout in other parts of the country or the world.
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