Ebola situation contained’: Pilgrims from DRC halted at Mpondwe border This border crossing in Kasese district is Uganda’s busiest official crossing into DR Congo.
Located near the town of Bwera, it is a primary route for regional trade and travellers.
Pilgrims from neighbouring DR Congo arrive en route to Namugongo in Kampala ahead of the June 3 Martyrs Day celebrations.
(Photo by Sam Kachope) ___________________A total of 77 pilgrims who had crossed from neighbouring DR Congo, destined for Namugongo in Kampala for the June 3 Martyrs Day celebrations, have been stopped at the Mpondwe border.This is in the wake of an Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease outbreak reported in DR Congo.“With the Ebola virus disease outbreak, we have told the pilgrims to wait until further notice,” said Dr Amon Bwambale, the Kasese district health officer, told New Vision on Saturday.Dr Amon Bwambale, the Kasese District Health Officer.
(Credit: Sam Kachope)He said those pilgrims are now camped at Kabuyiri Church in Mpondwe.This border crossing in Kasese district is Uganda’s busiest official crossing into DR Congo.
Located near the town of Bwera, it is a primary route for regional trade and travellers.A 59-year-old Congolese man who had crossed the border to Uganda died of Ebola in a Kampala hospital on Thursday, and his body was returned to DR Congo that very day.When he was admitted to the facility four days prior, the patient had presented with respiratory distress, episodes of fever, epigastric pain, nausea, and challenges passing urine, according to the health ministry.This was an imported case, as Uganda has not yet reported a local Ebola virus disease patient.
“The Ministry of Health, as it has done many times before, has traced all those who had interacted with him, including health workers, close relatives and friends,” Uganda Media Centre executive director Alan Kasujja said in a press statement on Friday.”The ministry is confident that there is no cause for alarm.
The situation has been contained.”Meanwhile, in a bid to curb the spread of the virus, health facilities at border entry points in Kasese have intensified testing and screening for Ebola.“We are now alert, screening every patient and conducting thorough laboratory investigations of suspicious cases while recording details of where the patients are coming from,” said Dr Bwambale.He said the health workers at Bwera Hospital are ready to receive patients, and that the isolation unit has been cleaned, considering that it has not been operating for a long time.
“We need almost every piece of safety gear, given the nature of disease outbreaks,” said the Bwambale.Ebola is a rare, severe, and often fatal viral illness in humans and nonhuman primates.The signs and symptoms of the disease include sudden onset of fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, vomiting, diarrhea, yellow eyes, and unexplained bleeding, which manifests as a late symptom.
Ebola, Mpondwe border, DR Congo, Martyrs Day, Uganda health, Ebola Bundibugyo, border safety