Uganda clears all 60 contacts of Kenyan Ebola case

What the report says

Uganda’s Ministry of Health says all 60 people identified as contacts of a Kenyan traveller who later tested positive for Ebola have been cleared after completing a 21-day monitoring period without symptoms. Health minister Chris Baryomunsi said none of the monitored contacts tested positive, and the group included border and airport staff, hotel workers and transport operators linked to the traveller’s movements in Uganda.

According to The Observer, the announcement was made at the Uganda Media Centre in Kampala. Baryomunsi said authorities had traced the traveller’s route and kept watch on people who may have been exposed. He also said Uganda has not recorded a new Ebola case since the country declared the end of its outbreak in July. The article notes that Uganda previously ended a Bundibugyo virus disease outbreak on July 28, following confirmation of the outbreak in May.

The minister cautioned that the country remains at risk because Ebola transmission continues in the Democratic Republic of Congo and cross-border movement is common. He said screening remains in place at Entebbe International Airport, border posts and selected road checkpoints. The ministry is also working with Nigerian authorities and international partners on a reported Ebola case involving a woman who had travelled from Uganda to Abuja, while no cases have been confirmed in Uganda’s border districts, including Kasese.