KAMPALA – The government of Uganda has announced plans to deploy about 40 medical experts and a technical response team to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in a bid to contain the spread of the Ebola virus.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The development was announced by the Ministry of Health as the first phase of a cross-border Ebola response designed to contain the outbreak at its epicenter, rather than waiting for cases to arrive on Ugandan soil.
Reported Ebola cases in Uganda rose to 19 confirmed infections as of the last update on June 5, including 13 active cases, two deaths, and four recoveries.
The outbreak began with the first case that crossed into Uganda from the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where 363 cases and 62 deaths have been confirmed.
Health officials warn that the outbreak in eastern DRC is increasingly driving infected patients across the border into Uganda seeking treatment, creating a complex web of surveillance and containment challenges.
Speaking to the media in Kampala on Friday, Permanent Secretary Dr. Diana Atwine announced a strategic shift in the Ebola response as case numbers continue to rise.
She stated that the most recent patients crossed from the DRC in crowded taxis at busy border points, exposing many communities and straining Uganda’s contact tracing efforts.
“As the numbers increase, we are likely to see more people suspected to have been in contact with Ebola patients. The best approach is to make sure that we go to the source and work with our counterparts in the DRC,” Dr. Atwine said.
The permanent secretary added that Uganda plans to build a diagnostic lab inside eastern DRC to speed up Ebola testing and break chains of transmission in overwhelmed, hard‑to‑reach areas.
Dr. Atwine stated that going to the other side rather than waiting will shorten the epidemic in both countries and prevent sick people from traveling long distances into Uganda.
“We are going to set up a laboratory inside the DRC. If we can test quickly, because the numbers there are overwhelming and the affected area is very large, we shall be able to reduce the spread of infection. Do we have to go to the other side rather than wait?” Atwine affirmed.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health is coordinating with global health bodies, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and Africa CDC, to supply life-saving infection control equipment and clinical resources to the frontlines.
Following the continued escalation in the spread of Ebola, Uganda has since suspended passenger movement across parts of the Uganda-DRC border, leaving only cargo movements under strict screening procedures.
Ebola spreads through direct contact with infected blood or body fluids, as well as through contaminated surfaces; common signs include sudden fever, severe headache, muscle pain, fatigue, diarrhea, vomiting, and sometimes bleeding.
Experts believe that to avoid contracting Ebola, one should keep distance from sick people, avoid touching dead bodies, wash hands often with soap and water, and seek early medical care to improve survival chances.
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