Uganda closes border with Congo as it tries to contain spread of rare type of Ebola
Uganda has closed its border with Congo in response to a rising number of suspected Ebola cases. The closure aims to prevent the spread of the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which has no approved treatments or vaccines. Health authorities are concerned about the exposure of Ugandan health workers to the virus from Congolese patients.
- ▪Uganda ordered the immediate closure of its border with Congo due to a surge in suspected Ebola cases.
- ▪The closure contradicts World Health Organization guidance, which discourages such measures.
- ▪Congo has reported over 100 confirmed cases and nearly 1,000 suspected cases of the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola.
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Open this photo in gallery:A worshipper has his temperature taken outide a Mosque in Bunia, in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, on Wednesday.GLODY MURHABAZI/AFP/Getty ImagesShareSave for laterPlease log in to bookmark this story.Log InCreate Free AccountUgandan authorities on Wednesday ordered the closure of the border with Congo “with immediate effect” as suspected cases surge near 1,000 in its neighbour of a rare type of Ebola and as others emerge at home.The measure, which goes against World Health Organization guidance, underscored growing fears of contagion in this East African country that, like Congo, has experience responding to Ebola outbreaks but is faced with a type this time, Bundibugyo, with no approved medicines or vaccines.A local Ebola task force made the…
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