Uganda on High Alert After Fresh Ebola Outbreak in DR Congo

  • by Mary Ociiti
  • August 6, 2018

An ambulance from the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) drives through a street in the town of Beni in North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, August 2, 2018.

The ministry of health has said it is on high alert following a fresh outbreak of the deadly Ebola hemorrhagic fever in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The ministry,in a statement  said all travelers from DRC will be screened before being allowed into the country.

The statement says teams have started training health workers to identify potential risks, enhance infection control and increase their level of awareness.

She said apart from a screening center which has been set up at Entebbe International Airport, others have also been put in the border districts of Kasese, Ntoroko, Kanungu, Kisoro and Kabarole.

DRC on Wednesday confirmed an outbreak of Ebola in Beni, North Kivu, about 100 km from the Ugandan border post of Mpondwe in Kasese.

Twenty-six cases were reported in North Kivu, including 20 deaths.

This new outbreak comes shortly after the World Health Organization (WHO) had declared an end of the Ebola outbreak in another part of DRC.

The Ebola virus is highly contagious and causes a range of symptoms including fever, vomiting, diarrhea, generalized pain or malaise and in many cases internal and external bleeding.

Officials in Uganda’s health ministry have now told teams in boarder areas to be suspicious of people entering the country from Congo.