Uganda Closes Border With DR Congo After Ebola Cases Rise

Ugandan authorities on Wednesday ordered the closure of the border with DR Congo with immediate effect after suspected cases of a rare Ebola strain approached 1,000 in the neighboring country. The measure was announced by a local Ebola task force following an increase in Ugandan health workers exposed to the virus by Congolese patients who crossed the border before the outbreak was declared on May 15.

Travel across the Congo border will be authorised only in emergency cases, including for the outbreak response, cargo or security reasons, Dr. Diana Atwine, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Health, told journalists. Any people entering from DR Congo under emergency circumstances will be taken into mandatory self-isolation for 21 days.

Tracing and isolating contacts is considered key to stopping the spread of the disease, which usually manifests as haemorrhagic fever.