Uganda has ordered citizens returning from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to undergo 21 days of quarantine at their own expense as health authorities step up efforts to prevent Ebola infections from crossing its borders.
Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi announced the directive on Sunday in Kampala, alongside tighter screening at Entebbe International Airport and land border crossings.
Travellers entering Uganda are also required to provide contact details to help health officials trace them if a suspected infection is identified.
The measures follow reports of Ebola infections involving a Ugandan-born woman in Nigeria and a Kenyan man who travelled from the DRC through Uganda before reaching Nairobi. Authorities are investigating the possible sources of the infections and whether the cases are connected.
Uganda says it has no active Ebola infections following the end of its previous outbreak in July.
Officials investigate possible links
The woman, who is married to a Swiss diplomat, tested positive for Ebola in Nigeria on October 20 after travelling to Abuja. Swiss authorities have said she contracted the virus during a visit to Uganda in September.
Baryomunsi questioned whether the available evidence established that her infection originated in Uganda. He said relatives who had previously travelled to the DRC met the woman in a Kampala suburb, raising questions about whether their movements had been fully investigated.
“We should speak science, not politics,” Baryomunsi said.
The World Health Organization (WHO), in an update issued on October 23, said the information available to it did not indicate that the woman had travelled to the DRC.
Authorities in Uganda and Nigeria are investigating her movements and possible exposure to the virus.
Investigators are also examining the movements of a Kenyan man who travelled from the DRC through Uganda before flying to Nairobi on October 3. He died two days later, and Kenya subsequently reported a second Ebola death.
The two individuals reportedly passed through Entebbe International Airport on the same day. Ugandan officials said security footage reviewed during the investigation showed no physical interaction between them.
Nigerian authorities said genetic testing found closely related viruses in the two cases, but a direct connection had not been established.
Uganda strengthens surveillance
Uganda said 60 people traced after possible contact with the Kenyan patient had completed 21 days of monitoring and been discharged.
The country declared its Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak over on July 28, after recording 20 infections and two deaths, according to the Health Ministry.
The new quarantine requirement reflects concerns about infections being imported from the DRC, where the outbreak has continued to spread.
The Bundibugyo strain responsible for the outbreak has no approved vaccine or specific treatment, making early detection, isolation and monitoring of contacts important to the public health response.
Ebola spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person. Symptoms can take up to 21 days to appear, according to WHO.
