GOVERNMENT TIGHTENS EBOLA SCREENING AFTER CASES TRAVEL THROUGH COUNTRY
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The Ministry of Health says it is strengthening screening and public health controls at Uganda’s points of entry after two Ebola Bundibugyo cases confirmed in Nigeria and Kenya were linked to travel through Uganda.
Prof. Charles Olaro, the Director General of Health Services, said Uganda had maintained limited provisions for diplomatic and humanitarian movement when it introduced border restrictions in May following an increase in Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
In a statement released on Tuesday, Nigeria’s government announced that a woman who travelled from Uganda by air and received treatment for several days at a private hospital in Abuja had tested positive for Ebola Bundibugyo virus.
Olaro said Nigeria had not yet provided detailed information about the woman’s travel itinerary and clinical history, which would help guide further investigations and any necessary contact tracing.
Preliminary information received by the ministry indicated that the woman transited through Uganda in early October without symptoms and developed them after arriving in Nigeria.
“Travel through Uganda does not establish that infection occurred here. The location of exposure remains under investigation,” Olaro said.
The Nigerian case is the second reported infection linked to travel through Uganda. Days earlier, the Kenyan government announced an Ebola case involving a person who travelled by road from the DRC through Uganda before connecting to Kenya through Entebbe International Airport.
Speaking to Uganda Radio Network on Wednesday morning, Allan Ssempebwa, the Ministry of Health Senior Communications Officer, said Uganda had not recorded any confirmed Ebola case despite the infections reported in neighbouring countries and Nigeria.
A ministry official, who requested anonymity, said health authorities had identified contacts linked to the case confirmed in Kenya. The official said all contacts tested so far had returned negative results.
The ministry said the border restrictions imposed in May remained in force for the general population as the outbreak continued in the DRC.
Under the restrictions, only authorised Ebola response teams, humanitarian operations, food and cargo transporters, and essential security personnel are permitted to cross between Uganda and the DRC.
The guidelines require all permitted travellers to undergo health screening and monitoring.
Travellers must also complete locator forms to support documentation and follow-up should a suspected infection be identified.
As of Wednesday, the DRC had reported 9,145 Ebola cases, with more than 4,500 deaths, according to figures cited by the ministry.
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