The World Health Organization has warned that Ebola’s arrival in the Ugandan capital is high risk of further spread of the deadly virus, calling on neighbouring countries to boost their preparedness.

Since Uganda’s health ministry first declared the outbreak on September 20, the country has registered over 150 confirmed and probable cases, including 64 deaths, WHO said.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters that since the deadly disease spread to Kampala last week, 17 cases have been confirmed there.

Ebola is spread through bodily fluids, with common symptoms being fever, vomiting, bleeding and diarrhoea, and combatted through time-honoured ways of tracing, containing and quarantining.

The particular strain now circulating in Uganda is known as the Sudan Ebola virus, for which there is currently no vaccine, although there are several candidate vaccines heading towards clinical trials.