Border with Congo closed over Ebola surge

KAMPALA (AP):

Ugandan authorities yesterday ordered the closure of their border with Congo “with immediate effect” as suspected cases of a rare type of Ebola surge towards 1,000 there and others emerge at home.

The measure, which goes against World Health Organization guidance, underscores growing fears of contagion in this East African country that, like Congo, has experience responding to Ebola outbreaks but is now facing a strain — Bundibugyo — for which there are no approved medicines or vaccines.

A local Ebola task force made the decision after Ugandan health workers were 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. Anyone entering from Congo under emergency circumstances will be placed in mandatory self-isolation for 21 days.

Tracing and isolating Ebola contacts is seen as key to stopping the spread of the disease, which usually manifests as haemorrhagic fever. The virus is spread through close contact with the bodily fluids of sick or deceased patients. Experts say healthcare workers and family members caring for patients face the highest risk.

The number of suspected cases in eastern Congo is nearing 1,000, with at least 220 suspected deaths. Congo’s health ministry on Tuesday said 101 cases had been confirmed, and it is looking into more than 3,000 possible contacts.

The WHO, while declaring this outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, has discouraged border closures while acknowledging that neighbouring countries are at high risk of contagion.

Closures “push the movement of people and goods to informal border crossings that are not monitored, thus increasing the chances of the spread of disease,” the UN agency said.

The border between Uganda and Congo is several hundred miles long and crossed by numerous footpaths beyond formal posts. Many people travel back and forth daily to visit family or trade.

Health authorities in Congo are struggling to contain the outbreak, which the WHO has said is outpacing them, after the rare strain of Ebola was confirmed weeks late as tests were initially conducted for a more common type.

Challenges include the threat from armed groups in eastern Congo, a large number of displaced people and poor infrastructure.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus yesterday called for a ceasefire in the region to allow safe access for responders and others, saying on social media that “attacks on health facilities make tracking cases and their contacts nearly impossible.”

Responders in Congo have said they are underprepared and underprotected for this outbreak, while conflict-traumatised residents, long wary of outsiders, have attacked a number of clinics and hurled stones and abuse at volunteers trying to raise awareness of the virus and its risks.

The WHO has said infected people or those who have been in contact with the virus should not undertake international travel unless it is for medical evacuation. On Wednesday, the Trump administration said it is planning to send Americans exposed to Ebola to a new facility in Kenya instead of flying them to the United States.

Uganda has reported seven cases of Ebola, including the first case of a 59-year-old man who died in Kampala, the capital, on May 14. While the caseload is not rising sharply, the number of people exposed through health workers has been increasing.

Congo has experienced 17 Ebola outbreaks. Health experts say aid cuts last year by the United States and other wealthy nations have been devastating for eastern Congo because of the region’s unique challenges.