Ebola: Uganda closes border with DR Congo as virus spreads

Authorities in Uganda announced on Wednesday that the country's border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been closed due to Ebola  outbreak.

The decision to shut the border "with immediate effect," was made by the nation's Ebola task force led by Vice President Jesca Alupo, following a surge of virus cases among Ugandan health workers who treated Congolese patients.

The infected Congolese had crossed the border before the outbreak was declared on May 15.

Uganda's permanent secretary of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Diana Atwine, said travel across the Congo border will be authorized only in emergency cases, including for the outbreak response, cargo or security reasons.

She added that anybody entering Uganda from Congo under emergency circumstances will be taken into mandatory isolation for 21 days.

The health emergency is the 17th recorded outbreak of Ebola in the DRC's history.

Medical experts say it was caused by Bundibugyo strain of the virus. There is currently no vaccine or treatment for this particular strain of the disease.

WHO opposes border closures

Uganda and the DRC share a border that is several hundred kilometers long, which runs north to south from Sudan to Rwanda.

The border area has numerous footpath crossings in addition to formal border posts, with people going in and out of the countries each day to visit relatives or engage in trade. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) has acknowledged that neighboring countries face a high risk of Ebola contagion. However, the UN agency discouraged border closures.

"No country should close its borders or place any restrictions on travel and trade. Such measures are usually implemented out of fear and have no basis in science," the WHO said in mid-May, when it declared the current Ebola outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern.

WHO said closing border crossings would cause people to use "informal border crossings that are not monitored, thus increasing the chances of the spread of disease." 

Ebola and war a 'catastrophic collision'

The troubled region of eastern Congo is nearing 1,000 suspected Ebola cases, with at least 220 deaths likely due to the virus. The Congolese government has so far confirmed 101 cases.

The virus was first detected in rural Ituri province. The WHO said that the fighting between rebels and government forces in eastern DRC is hindering efforts to tackle the current Ebola outbreak. 

"Eastern DRC now faces a catastrophic collision of disease and conflict with the Ebola outbreak in Ituri province outpacing the response," the UN agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X.

The region has been plagued with armed groups, large number of displaced people and poor infrastructure.

WHO chief warns of Ebola epidemic

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The UN health chief has urged for a ceasefire in the region to allow health workers to deliver services safely and condemned the recent attacks on health facilities in the area, saying the unrest was making it "nearly impossible" to carry out contact tracing.

Edited by: Darko Janjevic