Kagadi , Uganda ( CNN ) -- One of five prisoners receiving treatment for a suspected case of Ebola virus in Uganda escaped overnight Friday from the hospital at the center of the outbreak , a health official said . `` Should his results come back and he is positive , that causes us a lot of worry . So right now , we have resolved that the remaining prisoners will be cuffed on the beds for fear that they might also escape , '' said Dr. Jackson Amune , commissioner at the Ministry of Health . The inmates from Kibaale prison are among 30 people at Kagadi hospital with suspected cases of the virus . Two additional patients have confirmed cases , according to Doctors Without Borders . The prisoners have been showing Ebola-like symptoms of vomiting , diarrhea and fever , Dr. Dan Kyamanywa said Thursday . `` We do expect the number of suspected cases to increase , '' Kyamanywa said . `` It 's important to break transmission and reduce the number of contacts that suspected cases have . '' Read more : Ebola outbreak suspected among Uganda prisoners . Many patients fled Kagadi hospital when Ebola was confirmed , he said , and the facility is struggling to respond to all the call-outs to suspected cases . The outbreak began in the Kibaale district in western Uganda with 53 confirmed cases . At least 16 people have died . An additional 312 people have suspected cases of the virus and have been isolated , pending further testing . The deaths have stoked heightened fear of the virus , a highly infectious , often fatal agent spread through direct contact with bodily fluids . Symptoms can include fever , vomiting , diarrhea , abdominal pain , headache , a measles-like rash , red eyes and , at times , bleeding from body openings . `` I would like to stress that the disease is under control , '' said Joaquim Saweka , the World Health Organization representative to Uganda . Health officials urged the public to report any suspected cases , to avoid contact with anyone infected and to wear gloves and masks while disinfecting bedding and clothing of infected people . Officials also advised avoiding public gatherings in the affected district . Read more : Could the Ebola outbreak spread to the U.S. ? Teams in Uganda are taking an aggressive approach , including trying to track down anyone who came into contact with patients infected with the virus , and health workers have been gearing up to protect themselves and deal with an influx of cases . The workers include people from Uganda 's Ministry of Health , the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , and the World Health Organization . Meanwhile , officials in Kenya were taking extra precautions after at least two patients showed symptoms of the virus , according to Jackstone Omoto , a medical official in Siaya , western Kenya . One man tested negative . A second man and two relatives have been isolated at the Moi Teaching & Referral Hospital in Eldoret , pending test results . The man was traveling from South Sudan to Kenya through Uganda . `` We are tracing the bus that he ( traveled on ) , and we have requested the company to contact the ministry so we can know who else was in the bus , '' said Beth Mugo , public health minister . The Ebola virus was first detected in 1976 in the central African nation of Zaire ( now the Democratic Republic of the Congo ) . The virus is named after a river in that country . There are five strains of the virus , all named after the areas where they were found : Zaire , Sudan , Cote d'Ivoire , Bundibugyo and Reston , according to the WHO . CNN 's Lillian Leposo and Aliza Kassim contributed to this report .
NEW : ` ` The disease is under control , '' World Health Organization official says . The inmate is one of five prisoners receiving treatment at Kagadi hospital . They are among 30 prisoners with suspected cases of the virus . The remaining prisoners will now be handcuffed to their beds , a health official says .