Uganda has confirmed an outbreak of the Ebola virus in the capital Kampala with the first confirmed patient dying from it on Wednesday, the health ministry said on Thursday. It is the East African country's ninth outbreak since it recorded its first infection of the viral disease in 2000.

Health authorities say they've identified at least 44 contacts of the deceased, including 30 hospital staff and patients.

Uganda announced Thursday that a nurse, 32, had died of Ebola in the capital, Kampala, amid a new outbreak of the deadly virus there — the first in two years. The country has activated emergency response procedures,