Uganda imposes 21-day quarantine on citizens returning from DR Congo over Ebola fears

Uganda, a country bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo, has implemented a 21-day quarantine for citizens who have recently traveled to the DRC, following a series of Ebola-related concerns. Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi announced the measure on Sunday, as Uganda aims to remain Ebola-free after declaring the end of its latest outbreak in July. However, there have been growing concerns among health experts after two individuals who had recently passed through the DRC tested positive in Kenya and Nigeria.

The Nigerian case involves a 42-year-old woman who returned to Uganda from Addis Ababa on October 3. She is currently in isolation and has shown significant improvement. Nigerian health authorities have traced 53 contacts, according to the Centre for Disease Control. While Swiss authorities believe the woman contracted the virus in Uganda, Baryomunsi contends that the Swiss statement is premature, questioning the evidence that she never traveled to DRC. He emphasized the importance of scientific analysis over political speculation.

Similarly, Kenya's first Ebola patient, who had traveled from DRC to Uganda before boarding a flight from Entebbe airport to Nairobi, passed away two days after arriving in Nairobi. Both the Kenyan and Nigerian cases traveled through the same Ugandan airport on the same day, but there was no physical contact between the two individuals.

The health ministry has intensified traveller screening at Entebbe International Airport and all land border crossings, mandating that all travelers complete a passenger locator form for entry into Uganda.

Genomic analysis of Nigeria's confirmed Ebola case revealed that the virus is closely related to the strain detected in Kenya's index case. However, Nigerian authorities have not found evidence of a direct connection between the two cases. Meanwhile, on late Sunday, the World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed concern over an attack on health workers responding to an Ebola alert in northern Congo, resulting in the death of a nurse and severe injury to another health worker.