Africa-Press. Uganda has temporarily closed its borders with the Democratic Republic of the Congo in response to the escalating outbreak of Ebola virus fever in its neighboring country, according to a senior official from the Ugandan Ministry of Health.
Uganda has recorded seven confirmed cases of the “Bundibugyo” strain of the Ebola virus since the outbreak was declared on May 15 in the Ituri province of northeastern Congo, which borders Uganda.
The permanent secretary of the Ugandan Ministry of Health stated to reporters: “Uganda is closing its borders with the Democratic Republic of the Congo temporarily and with immediate effect. The only exceptions include approved response teams combating Ebola, humanitarian operations, and the transport of food and goods, under strict conditions,” including medical examinations.
She added: “Anyone returning to Uganda from the Democratic Republic of the Congo will undergo mandatory isolation for 21 days under the supervision of specialized medical teams.”
She also clarified that “all media outlets” are required to allocate 30 minutes daily during prime time for awareness and prevention of Ebola.
Ugandan citizens returning from the Democratic Republic of the Congo will face mandatory quarantine for 21 days, but trade between the two countries will not completely cease.
In this context, a public affairs official from the Ugandan media center, a governmental media agency, stated in a comment to an international radio station that the government deemed these measures necessary because all recorded cases in Uganda are linked to individuals coming from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
He added: “Given the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, some individuals may attempt to enter the country illegally, especially since Uganda hosts a large number of Congolese refugees, and many families continue to move between the two countries.”
He explained that those returning from the Democratic Republic of the Congo will be taken to health isolation centers, where they will remain under medical supervision until health authorities confirm they are not infected with the Ebola virus.
He noted that despite the border closure, Ebola response teams and trucks transporting food and goods will continue to operate, with drivers subjected to strict health checks.
Rapid response medical teams will also be deployed at all border crossings to monitor any potential cases of virus infection.
He concluded by saying: “Trade will be affected, but it will not stop completely.”
Earlier, the Director-General of the World Health Organization stated that the Democratic Republic of the Congo is facing a “very serious and complex” challenge with the Ebola outbreak, urging neighboring countries to take “immediate” action to curb its spread.
During a ministerial meeting held online by the health agency of the African Union, he explained that several factors in this outbreak “make its management particularly complex.”
He pointed out that “the delay in detecting the outbreak means we are now trying to catch up with an outbreak that is spreading very rapidly,” adding that field teams “are working to urgently intensify operations, but at this moment, the outbreak is spreading faster than we are.”
The World Health Organization had raised its assessment of public health risks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from “high” to “very high,” the highest level in its classification, while maintaining the risk assessment as “high” at the regional level and “low” globally.
The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a continental health agency, warned that ten African countries are threatened by the Ebola outbreak, alongside the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the epicenter of the outbreak, and its neighbor Uganda.
Ebola is one of the deadliest viral diseases, transmitted through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected individuals or contaminated materials. Its symptoms typically begin with fever, fatigue, and muscle pain, before developing in some cases into vomiting, diarrhea, and internal bleeding.
Infected individuals do not become contagious until symptoms appear, following an incubation period ranging from two to 21 days.
The Ebola virus was first discovered in 1976 near the Ebola River in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with the first outbreaks recorded in remote villages in Central Africa near tropical rainforests.
Ebola is considered a severe viral disease and is often fatal in humans, with the virus transmitted to humans from wild animals such as fruit bats, and then spreading among humans through direct contact with the blood, secretions, organs, or other bodily fluids of infected individuals, as well as through surfaces and materials contaminated with these fluids.
Symptoms include fever, fatigue, headache, muscle pain, sore throat, vomiting, and diarrhea, with severe cases potentially progressing to bleeding, multiple organ failure, and death.
The average fatality rate for Ebola is around 50%, but this rate has varied in past outbreaks between 25% and 90%, according to World Health Organization data.
