Uganda on alert as Ebola fever breaks out in DRC

Uganda on alert as Ebola fever breaks out in DRC
Kakaire Kirunda
Kampala
The Health Ministry has communicated to immigration staff at Uganda’s western border points to monitor people coming from the central parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo where an outbreak of the dreaded Ebola hemorrhagic fever has occured.
The Director General of Health Services, Dr Sam Zaramba, yesterday said; “We have asked immigration officials to immediately contact our medical staff in the vicinity in case of any suspicion.”
However, with some people not so keen on disclosing their exact areas of origin for fear of being inconvenienced and perhaps quarantined, it remains a challenge how the immigration staff will handle the situation.
DR Congo’s Ministry of Health declared on December 25 that there was an outbreak of the Ebola haemorrhagic fever in Mweka District, Kasai Occidental province. And as of December 26, the World Health Organisation (WHO) was aware of 34 suspected cases including nine deaths.
However, the aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), which is taking care of the affected, has since updated the number of fatalities to 11.
Reports indicate that there is fear and confusion among local civilians and medics as rumours circulate of suspected cases or deaths from the virulent disease.
This deadly viral condition can cause its victims to bleed to death from all their bodily orifices.
Late last year, Uganda suffered an Ebola outbreak in the western district of Bundibugyo which claimed 37 lives out of the 148 who caught the disease. And since this outbreak that was officially declared over on February 20, Dr Zaramba said the Health Ministry has since been on the alert for any eventualities.
Dr Zaramba said Uganda is yet to issue any alerts or tight border controls “because the WHO has not prompted us and there are minimal chances that the epidemic will reach here because the outbreak is far away from the borders and international efforts are underway to contain it there.”
The WHO says in a statement that it is unaware of any reports signalling the international spread of disease and advises against the application of any travel or trade restrictions upon the DR Congo.