daniel chigunweKAMPALA. – Uganda has started screening departing travelers for Sudan Ebola virus disease (SVD) at the East African country’s border points to prevent the exportation of the virus.
Travellers departing through Uganda’s 53 designated border points and Entebbe International Airport, the country’s main international gateway, are being screened for the deadly viral hemorrhagic fever, Henry Kyobe Bosa, incident commander at the Ministry of Health said.
Bosa said a thermal scanner has been deployed at the Entebbe airport for departing travelers for high-temperature detection, and sanitisation measures have also been instituted.
“We have heightened active surveillance. We have instituted exit screening starting fully at Entebbe airport, and we are rolling the same across the entire 53 designated border points,” said Bosa.
“If the temperature is detected high, then that individual will be refused to exit and linked to the isolation. This is to ensure that we localise the Ebola outbreak within the country without spreading it out.”
Uganda last week declared an Ebola outbreak after a 32-year-old nurse succumbed to the disease. The country’s Ministry of Health said two relatives of the index case have tested positive for the virus and 234 people who had contact with the deceased have been identified and isolated.
With the World Health Organisation and other partners, Uganda is currently carrying out a clinical efficacy trial for a vaccine for the Sudan species of the Ebola virus. – Xinhua.com
Online Reporter