Uganda closes border with Congo after surge of rare Ebola cases
Uganda has closed its border with the Democratic republic of the Congo due to a surge of Ebola cases involving a rare Bundibugyo Ebolavirus strain.The closure followed spread through travel between the two countries, which led to Uganda’s frist confirmed Ebola death in Kampala on May 14.
The Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo was declared on May 15, with at least 220 suspected deaths and nearly 1,000 suspected cases. The World health Institution has labeled the DRC outbreak a “very high” risk while saying the chance of wider global or regional spread appears limited.
Ugandan health workers have helped contain the outbreak, but fears remain that additional transmission could occur-particularly through health workers’ contact with their families. Refugees fleeing fighting between Congolese forces and M23 rebels have also increasingly crossed into Uganda over recent years, complicating containment, especially as parts of the border area are under M23 control.
Uganda closed its border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo after a surge in Ebola cases of a rare variant.
The decision to close the border was made by an Ebola task force led by Ugandan Vice President Jessica Alupo. The flow of people between Uganda and the DRC has spread the rare Bundibugyo Ebolavirus strain to the former, leading to the first confirmed Ebola death in the country’s capital, Kampala, on May 14.
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The Ebola outbreak was declared on May 15. At least 220 people are suspected to have died from the disease in the eastern Congo, with suspected cases approaching 1,000.
Ebola is highly contagious and spreads easily through direct contact with the bodily fluids of those infected. Contact with corpses infected with Ebola is one of the primary spreaders.
Ugandan health workers have assisted in containing the spread, but their exposure to Ebola patients has led to fears that it could spread further throughout Uganda. Permanent secretary of Uganda’s Ministry of Health, Dr. Diana Atwine, said that Ebola has spread to Uganda through health workers’ contact with their families.
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The World Health Organization, meanwhile, has declared the new Ebola outbreak in the DRC a “very high” risk, though it said its risk of spreading globally or even regionally was limited. Uganda’s border closure could help solidify this diagnosis.
Thousands of Congolese refugees have poured across the border into Uganda over the past few years, fleeing the intensifying conflict between the government and M23 rebels. Uganda has struggled to accommodate the influx. Uganda’s border with the DRC includes an expansive area controlled by M23.
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