Uganda closed its border with the Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday, citing growing concerns about the possible spread of the Ebola virus, the country\u2019s health ministry said.<\/p>\n
The outbreak is centered in Congo\u2019s Ituri province, which is on Uganda\u2019s western border. The closure came after seven cases were confirmed and one death was reported in the Ugandan capital, Kampala.<\/p>\n
Dr. Diana Atwine, the top official in Uganda\u2019s ministry of health, said the border would be closed temporarily. \u201cThe only exceptions are for authorized Ebola response teams, the humanitarian operations, food and cargo transportation and security, but all this still will be under a strict health screening and monitoring protocols across the border,\u201d Dr. Atwine said at a news conference in Kampala on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll authorized entrants shall be subjected to strict health screening,\u201d she said, adding that Uganda planned to send Ebola response teams to Congo.<\/p>\n
Given that the border between the two countries is more than 500 miles long, banning all migration will be difficult.<\/p>\n
More than 1,000 cases and more than 200 deaths have been recorded in the outbreak, largely in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the World Health Organization, which declared the outbreak a global health emergency on May 17.<\/p>\n
The current outbreak<\/a> is the 17th in Congo and the third largest overall. But health experts say that they are particularly concerned about this outbreak because there is not yet a vaccine to treat Bundibugyo Ebola, the species that is spreading.<\/p>\n Cuts by the Trump administration to disease surveillance networks and the closure of the United States Agency for International Development have impeded the response to the outbreak, according to health experts.<\/p>\n Uganda has been at pains to demonstrate that it is better prepared to respond to the virus than eastern Congo. Ugandan authorities have argued that there is robust disease surveillance and many more public health officials in Uganda than in Congo. <\/p>\n Last week, the Ugandan government stopped flights in and out of Congo and postponed an annual Catholic festival that had been planned for June 3. Each year, thousands of worshipers from Congo cross the border for the festival.<\/p>\n Ugandan officials have said that all of its Ebola cases are in quarantine and under medical supervision. \u201cBecause of the measures put in place earlier, we have actually prevented many patients from coming in. Many were stopped at the border and advised to seek treatment at referral facilities within D.R.C.,\u201d Dr. Atwine said.<\/p>\n