Uganda: How Uganda Is Preparing Against the Threat of Arboviral Diseases

Arboviruses are viruses carried by mosquitoes and ticks and passed to people when they are bitten. Many arboviruses were first identified in East Africa, where they remain a serious threat. Of the 24 arboviruses identified in Uganda, six have been linked to outbreaks: dengue, chikungunya, Zika, yellow fever, West Nile fever and o'nyong'nyong. Many mosquito-borne viruses in the country are likely still undiscovered.

And Uganda's exposure risk is rising. Rapid urbanisation is worsening the threat, because Aedes mosquitoes multiply in poorly managed water and sanitation conditions, and climate change and population movement compound it.