Ebola Photo: VCG

Five people have died from Ebola in Uganda and another 19 deaths were likely caused by the disease, the president said on Wednesday, but he said he would not order a lockdown because Ebola is easier to manage than COVID-19.

The outbreak of the deadly hemorrhagic fever was announced last week, triggering fears of a major health crisis in the country of 45 million people. There is no vaccine for the Sudan strain of the disease behind the latest Uganda infections.

In a televised address President Yoweri Museveni said that another 19 deaths in the ­community were likely due to the disease as they displayed similar symptoms but samples were not taken from them to confirm this before their deaths.

Another 19 cases of the disease have also been confirmed, he said. He said that among the other confirmed infections were six health workers, including four doctors, one anesthesiologist and one medical student.

Ebola mainly spreads through contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person. The viral disease has symptoms including intense weakness, muscle pain, headaches and a sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea and rashes among others.

The World Health Organization says the Ebola Sudan strain is less transmissible and has shown a lower fatality rate in previous outbreaks than its cousin Ebola Zaire, a strain that killed nearly 2,300 people in a 2018-20 epidemic in neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The latest infections broke out in Mubende district in central Uganda. It has since spread to two more districts.