Uganda has announced a 21-day quarantine for citizens returning with a history of travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo, tightening precautions as officials investigate Ebola cases involving travellers who passed through the country.
Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi announced the measure on Sunday, October 25, alongside stronger screening at Entebbe International Airport and land borders.
Uganda maintains that it has no active Ebola cases, but infections detected in Kenya and Nigeria have prompted investigations into travellers’ movements and possible exposure.
Screening intensified at entry points
Baryomunsi said travellers entering Uganda by air, land or water must complete a passenger locator form.
He also reported that all 60 contacts traced in Uganda in connection with Kenya’s first Ebola patient had completed 21 days of monitoring and been discharged.
The Kenyan patient had travelled from Congo through Uganda before flying from Entebbe to Nairobi on October 3. The patient subsequently died.
Ugandan officials said a review of airport security footage showed no physical interaction between that traveller and the woman later diagnosed in Nigeria, although both passed through Entebbe on the same day.
Nigeria monitors 53 contacts
Nigeria’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that its patient, a 42-year-old woman, arrived in Abuja from Uganda through Addis Ababa on October 3.
In its October 24 situation report, the agency said she remained in isolation, was receiving treatment and had improved markedly. It had identified 53 contacts, including healthcare workers, domestic staff and her spouse.
Ugandan authorities are reviewing travel records, interactions and genomic findings with Nigerian officials and international partners.
Genetic analysis has identified closely related viruses in the Nigerian and Kenyan cases, but that finding alone does not establish a direct transmission link or where the Nigerian patient became infected.
Outbreak closure followed extended monitoring
Uganda’s earlier outbreak timeline requires a distinction between its national announcement and subsequent international confirmation.
WHO says Uganda announced an interruption of local transmission on July 28. WHO and Africa CDC welcomed the outbreak’s closure on August 27, following an additional monitoring period after the last imported patient was discharged on July 16.
The current precautions come as transmission continues in neighbouring Congo, maintaining pressure on cross-border surveillance and regional cooperation.
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