Health bosses have warned that the spread could be “catastrophic” following the shocking death of a child in Uganda earlier this week.
The young girl contracted the Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF), which has been dubbed the “bleeding eye fever” and is thought to be even more deadly than the Black Death.
As many as 60 people are now thought to be infected by the illness.
The viral disease, which can kill up to 40 percent of all those infected, is usually spread by tick bites or contact with infected livestock.
Like the plague, symptoms include muscle pains, headaches, vomiting, diarrhoea and bleeding from the eyes, mouth and anus.
The maps below show the Nakaseke District where the girl picked up the disease.
The region has a population just under 200,000 and borders the Nakasongola, Luweero, Wakiso, Mityana, districts.
Rapid response teams were also called out to Luweero, where an eight-year-old died earlier this month, sparking fears the disease is spreading.
After an initial confusion over the Nakaseke girl’s cause of death, tests have confirmed that she did have CCHF.
Sarah Opendi, state minister for health, said: “Results from Uganda Virus Research Institute, Entebbe tested positive for the Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever and negative for other viral Hemorrhagic Fevers like Ebola, Marburg, Rift Valley Fever and Sosuga.”
Authorities at the hospital said that the body would have to be buried by health teams due to the “sensitivity” about a further outbreak.
In the wake of her tragic death, family member Harriet Nalunkum said: “We are stranded on what to do because the health teams took away the body.
“We are waiting for a communication regarding the burial arrangements.”
News of the CCHF outbreak in Uganda comes after at least three people died of an unknown type of viral hemorrhagic fever disease in neighbouring South Sudan.
WHO investigators also discovered a worrying number of animals had died from similar symptoms.
A recent report from the international health authority said: “The outbreak of suspected viral haemorrhagic fever in South Sudan could rapidly evolve, and critical information including laboratory confirmation of the aetiology of the disease is needed to direct response efforts.
“Strengthened surveillance in affected human and animal populations is needed to facilitate rapid detection of human and animal cases and response; strengthened capacity to clinically manage any new cases is also needed in the affected area.”