Uganda Opens Ebola Screening centers at Border Points with DRC, Kenya

The WHO has sent dozens of experts to West Africa in recent months to try and contain the outbreak

Uganda is opening up of screening centers at all its border points with the Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya in order to ensure that Ebola cases are detected and handled at entry points, the director general of health services Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng has said.  

Ebola spreads through contact with an infected person's bodily fluids
Ebola spreads through contact with an infected person’s bodily fluids

The declaration was made yesterday afternoon as experts from the Ministry of Health visited Entebbe International Airport Screening Center to assess the level of preparedness amidst the escalating threat of Ebola that has devastated several West African countries in the recent past.

The disease has killed over 1400 people in West Africa. Sierra Leone has been the hardest-hit, with at least 910 cases and 392 deaths.

Amidst the West African Challenge, the Democratic Republic of Congo confirmed that two of the eight samples from the northwest Equateur province tested positive for the deadly disease.

The Entebbe screening Center was set up on July 11th to screen travelers of Ebola signs and symptoms after an outbreak was declared in the West African countries of Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria and Guinea.  The center currently screens over 1,500 passengers on a daily basis.

Dr. Aceng also ordered for a Passenger-Tracking Record for all airlines to enable the Screening Center to identify potential Ebola suspects.

The Passenger-Tracking Record indicates the origin of the trip and the various stopovers that a passenger has made during the trip.

The Ministry of Health is also undertaking a number of programs to prevent the epidemic.  These include; setting up and equipping the National Isolation Facility at Entebbe, Strengthening surveillance in all districts, reactivating of all district taskforces and equipping health facilities along the border with all necessary supplies and logistics.

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