Uganda closes its border with Congo as cases of a rare Ebola type surge
The closure follows a rise in Ugandan health workers exposed by Congolese patients, while Uganda has reported 7 Ebola cases, including 1 death.
- On Wednesday, Ugandan authorities ordered immediate closure of the Congo border after Vice President Jesca Alupo's Ebola task force determined that health workers faced escalating exposure from Congolese patients who crossed before the May 15 outbreak declaration.
- Suspected cases in eastern Congo are nearing 1,000 with at least 220 deaths, while Congo's health ministry reported 101 confirmed cases and over 3,000 possible contacts on Tuesday; the porous border spanning several hundred miles with numerous footpaths created transmission vulnerability.
- Uganda has recorded seven Ebola cases including a 59-year-old man's death in Kampala on May 14, and while the caseload remains modest, health worker exposure has accelerated as they have families, according to Dr. Diana Atwine, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Health.
- Border travel will be restricted to emergency cases including Ebola response, cargo or security reasons, though the World Health Organization warned that closures lack scientific basis and redirect movement to informal crossings, increasing disease transmission risk.
- Doctor Todd Ellerin of South Shore Health cautioned that Congo's reported 177 deaths and nearly 750 cases likely represent underestimates, as eastern Congo simultaneously confronts armed groups, displaced populations and poor infrastructure complicating containment efforts.
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The Bakersfield Californian
Uganda closes its border with Congo, where suspected cases of a rare Ebola type are surging
Uganda has ordered the closure of its border with Congo, where suspected Ebola cases are surging. A local Ugandan task force gave the order on Wednesday. This comes after Ugandan health workers were exposed to Ebola following the arrival of…
Uganda fears that the ebola virus could spread further from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. And closes the border to the neighboring country.
Uganda closed its border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) this Wednesday, in an attempt to contain the spread of the Ebola epidemic that plagues its neighbor, announced the Ministry of Health. This small country in eastern Africa has recorded seven cases of the Bundibugyo variant of the Ebola virus since an outbreak was identified in DRC on May 14. “Uganda will temporarily close the border with the DRC with immediate effect,” the …
Uganda temporarily closed its borders with the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Wednesday 27 May, "in the face of the intensification of the scale" of the outbreak of Ebola haemorrhagic fever in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
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