Today is the final day in the 42 day count-down post-discharge of the last Ebola patient. Tomorrow the epidemic will be declared officially over... The official party is not for another week. Meanwhile there was only one empty bed in the Pediatric ward this morning. Weddings that were delayed are starting to reorganize, I know of three in the next few weeks. Students are back in school in full force. Life is finally going on.

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Friday mornings we have staff meetings at NHC. Today was the first since Ebola disrupted our lives so severely. The acting In-Charge and I decided it was long overdue, to sit together and begin to move forward into the rest of life.

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Good news - Bundibugyo is now ebola-free! The isolation wards in Kikyo and Bundibugyo have both closed. Assuming that no new cases develop, the end of the epidemic will be officially declared on February 8. Keep praying... we'll keep you posted!

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Not a lot of news, but here are the numbers. Current Admissions: Bundibugyo Hospital 3 currently admitted; 1 of which was a new admission--there were 5 discharges. Kikyo 1 current admission and 1 one discharged.

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The Sunday night numbers while not huge continue to cause concern... I failed to reach the Task Force Meeting due to mechanical motorcycle problems, but got the report second-hand from a very reliable CDC source...

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The Ebola Task Force daily briefing was tense and long. The death of a patient who was errantly admitted to the Female Ward of the Bundibugyo Hospital, later recognized as a Ebola supect, later confirmed and then died...after having exposed at least six health workers to the virus--has left the hospital and district anxious and angry.

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Yesterday, the delight of anticipation of the end of the epidemic emerged. With only one Ebola patient resident between the two Isolation Wards, the end was in sight. Today, however, reality crashed in.

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A woman presented to the outpatient department of Bundibugyo Hospital yesterday with symptoms consistent with a miscarriage. Because of her bleeding she was questioned about the presence of other symptoms related to Ebola (and any history of contacts).

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A small milestone. The last death occurred one week ago, 13th December. … A whole week without an Ebola death...that's a cause for celebration.

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One of the World Health Organization experts told us that in the best case scenario we would see the number of cases cut in half each week. The admitted caseload peaked at 40 about 2 weeks ago, so with the current admissions numbering 6, things are looking pretty good.

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This evening's District Ebola Task Force Meeting revealed a continuing tapering of the epidemic...

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21 days! Today we are celebrating emerging from the danger zone, though the joy is heavily mingled with the deep sadness of those who lost their lives, particularly Jonah.

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Today’s big event was the visit of the Minister of Health, the Honorable Dr. Stephen Mallinga, along with the Commissioner of Community Health Services, Sam Okware.

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The meeting tonight was a bit calmer and more amicable, thanks for prayers for cooperation... LABS AT LAST! There is still a large back-log of tests so we are not quite ready to breathe a sigh of relief, but at least the initial news is good, the spread may not be as fast and violent as feared.

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Yesterday marked one week since the diagnosis of Ebola was announced. In that week we moved from thoughtful concern to alarm to grief to acceptance of the daily reality of work.

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Dr. Jonah was buried today. It was so unlike any other burial I have ever been to in Bundibugyo (and I’ve been to a lot) that it doesn’t seem quite real.

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Dr. Jonah Kule died this evening at Mulago Hospital. We have lost one of our best friends. To say nothing of the devastating impact on his family, on the district, on the country.

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The Caravan lifted off a few minutes ago with its precious cargo [the Myhre children and other teammates] . . . I have never been in Bundibugyo without our kids before, it is very very quiet all of the sudden.

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Admitted at Bundibugyo Hospital: 15, including Dr. Sessanga whose sister just came to our house looking for Scott because he’s no longer responsive; the matron (head nurse); the nurse who was working in the isolation unit, Fred; a clinical officer named Joshua Kule; and an ophthalmic assistant. Among the other patients are six direct contacts (mother, brother, wife, daughter and two friends) of a patient who died just over a week ago.

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The International Emergency Epidemic Response Team (including reps from WHO, Uganda Ministry of Health, MSF-Swiss, and UNICEF) flew in on a MAF Caravan and spent 7 hours on the ground in Bundibugyo yesterday.

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The mysterious disease that has infected people in Bundibugyo was this morning revealed to be Ebola virus (verified by the CDC-Atlanta laboratories). So far all cases have come from a village area called Kikyo, which is 25 km from our mission, or through direct prolonged contact with patients from that area. Ebola is a panic-inducing word. We are treating this news with sober respect, but thought we’d put out a few facts proactively.

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