Ugandan health authorities are investigating possible links between Ebola infections reported in Nigeria and Kenya, as the government orders citizens returning from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to undergo a 21-day quarantine.
Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi announced the measure on Sunday in Kampala, saying returning Ugandans with a history of travel to the DRC would have to meet the cost of quarantine themselves.
The order comes amid questions about how a Ugandan-born woman who tested positive for Ebola in Nigeria became infected, and whether her case is connected to that of a Kenyan man who travelled through Uganda after visiting the DRC.
Uganda has also tightened screening at Entebbe International Airport and land border crossings. Incoming travellers must provide contact information to support follow-up by health officials.
Officials dispute possible source
The woman, who is married to a Swiss diplomat, travelled to Nigeria and tested positive for Ebola on October 20. Swiss authorities have said she contracted the virus during a visit to Uganda in September.
Baryomunsi said investigators should examine all possible routes of exposure rather than conclude that the infection was linked directly to her stay in Uganda.
He said relatives who had previously visited the DRC met the woman in a Kampala suburb, raising questions about whether their movements and possible exposure had been adequately examined.
“We should speak science, not politics,” the minister said.
In an update issued on October 23, the World Health Organization (WHO) said the information available to it did not indicate that the woman had travelled to the DRC.
Ugandan and Nigerian authorities are continuing investigations into her movements and the possible source of infection.
The inquiry has drawn attention to travel connections between the DRC, Uganda, Kenya and Nigeria as officials try to determine whether the reported infections share a transmission chain.
Airport movements under scrutiny
Investigators are also examining the case of a Kenyan man who travelled from the DRC through Uganda before flying to Nairobi on October 3. He died two days later, and Kenya subsequently reported a second Ebola death.
Both the Kenyan patient and the woman whose infection was confirmed in Nigeria reportedly passed through Entebbe International Airport on the same day.
Ugandan officials said security footage showed no physical interaction between the two. Nigerian authorities, meanwhile, said genetic testing found closely related viruses in the cases, although a direct link had not been established.
The findings have not yet established whether the infections stemmed from a shared source or separate exposure events.
Uganda said 60 people traced after possible contact with the Kenyan patient had completed 21 days of monitoring and been discharged.
Quarantine and monitoring
Uganda declared its Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak over on July 28, after recording 20 infections and two deaths, according to the Health Ministry. The latest measures are intended to reduce the risk of imported infections as the outbreak in the DRC continues.
The Bundibugyo strain has no approved vaccine or specific treatment. Early detection, isolation and monitoring of contacts remain important measures in containing the disease.
WHO says Ebola spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, and symptoms can take up to 21 days to develop.
