Since Ebola is dominating the news (and rightly so; please keep praying for relief supplies to be delivered and for the health workers who are fighting so valiantly), I wanted to share something that may not make the news in the US. A case of Marburg hermorrhagic fever has claimed a life in Uganda, as reported by several news outlets. We had an outbreak of Marburg in 2012, and the Uganda authorities moved quickly to contain it. UCU did lose a staff member then, who contracted it at a funeral for a relative who had Marburg.
Mengo Hospital, where the deceased was employed, is in Kampala, and is very near Namirembe, where the Church of Uganda Provincial Office is located. Since Uganda contained the Marburg virus the first time there was an outbreak, I am confident it will be contained again.
Perhaps it’s my naiveté showing, but I am not terribly worried about it spreading to Mukono. Perhaps I should be. I don’t know.
I do know that I will add this to my prayers, and ask you to as well. Honestly, words are failing me as I think about all that is happening on this continent, and beyond. As much as I love to understand, I can’t. I can only pray, and trust, despite my lack of understanding.
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