Are Tourists Safe to come to Uganda after an Ebola Outbreak?

Uganda has assured tourists that there is no cause for fear or alarm following the Ebola outbreak in the east African country that started in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo.

According to the minister of state for tourism the index case in the western district of Kasese was isolated and that all the family members and relatives have been found hence the country was safe and there was no cause for alarm or even to issue travel advisories. The minister also said that the country has the capacity to contain all the outbreaks that may affect it.

According to the World Health Organization and the Ugandan Ministry of Health, the crisis of Ebola that began on June 9^th 2019 was the first case of Ebola in Uganda since the latest outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo was confirmed on June 11, 2019, by the Ugandan Minister, Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng and this was a five-year-old boy and the first case since an outbreak in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo 10 months ago.

There were a total of three confirmed cases of the Ebola Virus Disease in Uganda and all three had recently traveled to the DRC and all the three victims succumbed to the disease. In response a total of 108 of their relatives and contacts were registered followed up and another 980 people who were at high risk of Ebola vaccinated.

Uganda has also put in place different measures in order to keep the disease at bay and they include the following;

1. Uganda maintains enhanced surveillance and has a response system in place to deal comprehensively with Ebola
2. The airports and border posts are conducting relevant entry screening.
3. The National Task Force has been activated, and rapid response teams have traveled to districts closest to the affected provinces in DRC and the Key activities include;

• Public health risk mapping to assess movement patterns,
• Enhanced surveillance, screening, and hand washing at points of entry in high-risk districts,
• Alerting other communities about the need for enhanced monitoring, and assessing preparedness in high-risk areas.

Since then there has been no new confirmed cases of Ebola in Uganda since that incident.

 Precautions you can take to avoid Ebola

• Avoid contact with other people’s blood or body fluids, which includes sexual contact.
• Do not handle items that may have come in contact with a person’s blood or body fluids (such as clothes, bedding, needles, and medical equipment).
• Avoid contact with wild animals or with raw bush meat.
• Avoid funeral or burial rituals that require handling a dead body.
• Do not panic and do not take clients to any large gatherings which include Hospitals, Churches, Schools, and political gatherings especially in high risk areas or regions.