Uganda steps up Ebola screening at Kenyan border
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on The Independent
Uganda is screening all travellers at the Busia border after nine Ebola cases were reported in Kenya, including one death. No cases have been detected in the Ugandan district, but informal crossings complicate surveillance, according to local health official Mathias Wabwire Panyako, cited by The Independent.
Authorities in Uganda’s Busia district are screening travellers entering and leaving the country at the main border post with Kenya, after nine Ebola cases were reported in that country, including one death. The district health officer, Dr Mathias Wabwire Panyako, said health teams were screening all travellers at the Busia border post, according to The Independent.
No Ebola cases have been detected in Busia district, Mathias Wabwire Panyako said. He warned, however, that the many informal crossings along the border allowed travellers to enter Uganda without health screening.
Residents have also raised concerns about the risks linked to travel between the two countries and unofficial crossings. Josephine Nangira notably mentioned routes from the Malaba River towards areas of Port Victoria, in Majanji, where travellers can avoid checks concentrated in the customs area.
The reinforcement in Busia follows the Ebola screening at Entebbe airport, announced on 22 October. Uganda had also reinstated traveller monitoring forms on 24 October, after confirming on 21 October that there were no active cases in the country.
