Uganda has introduced a mandatory 21-day quarantine for citizens returning from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) as authorities step up measures to prevent the spread of Ebola.
The Ugandan Ministry of Health announced the measure on Sunday, stating that returnees with a history of travel to DR Congo would have to cover the cost of their quarantine.
Authorities have also strengthened health screening at Entebbe International Airport, land border crossings and designated checkpoints along major roads.
The move follows a deadly Ebola outbreak in DR Congo, where more than 4,600 deaths have been reported since the country announced its 17th outbreak in May.
Uganda had been declared Ebola-free by the World Health Organisation in August after recording 20 cases, including two deaths. Most of those affected had recently travelled to DR Congo.
The current outbreak is linked to the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, for which no approved vaccine or specific treatment is currently available, according to the report. Ebola spreads through contact with infected bodily fluids and can cause severe haemorrhagic fever.
Concerns have also grown following the detection of cases in Kenya and Nigeria in October. Nigeria confirmed its first case in a woman who arrived in Abuja on a flight from Uganda.
However, Uganda’s government spokesperson, Alan Kasujja, rejected suggestions that the patient contracted the virus in Uganda, arguing that the country had no active Ebola cases at the time.
Nigeria’s Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, later disclosed that genomic sequencing found the virus detected in Nigeria closely resembled the strain identified in Kenya’s first imported case. The samples reportedly differed by only one mutation.
The analysis was conducted through a partnership between the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases at Redeemer’s University.
Pate maintained that Nigeria had recorded only one confirmed case, adding that contact tracing and laboratory testing were continuing to identify and monitor people who might have been exposed.
The Federal Government has also reported that the patient in Nigeria is showing signs of recovery as health authorities work to prevent further transmission.
