Countries enact travel bans over Ebola fears as another US airport starts enhanced screenings

More countries have imposed travel bans on residents of countries affected by the ongoing Ebola outbreak.

Canada and the Bahamas said on Tuesday they would temporarily ban residents of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Uganda and South Sudan due to an outbreak of the rare Ebola Bundibugyo variant that has killed up to 50 per cent of patients and for which there is no treatment or vaccine.

The epidemic caused approximately 1,000 suspected illnesses and 228 suspected deaths.

The Canadian government banned entry for 90 days to reduce the risk of Ebola entering the country and spreading.

Canadian citizens, permanent residents and other foreign nationals who have been in affected areas in recent weeks and do not have symptoms such as fever, severe headache and intense muscle pain will be forced to quarantine for 21 days starting May 30, according to Canada’s public health agency.

Entry restrictions in the Bahamas will remain in effect for 30 days, subject to review by the country’s health authorities.

The Bahamas also announced enhanced health screenings and possible quarantines for residents and foreigners who have been in the DRC, Uganda or South Sudan within 30 days of arriving in the Caribbean country.

The restrictions come as New York City’s John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK) joins a list of US airports selected to enact enhanced screening for American travelers arriving from Ebola-ravaged countries.

New York City’s John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK) (pictured above) will now perform enhanced Ebola screening for Americans returning from DRC, Uganda and South Sudan

Washington Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C., Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston will also conduct enhanced screening.

The United States is asking Americans arriving from the DRC, Uganda or South Sudan to reroute their travel to arrive at one of these four airports for screening.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told a cabinet meeting Wednesday that the administration will not allow Ebola to enter the United States because of the rapid spread of the deadly disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

He said: ‘The number one priority of our foreign policy is to protect the American people. ‘We cannot and will not allow any cases of Ebola to enter the United States.’

Earlier this week, White House officials confirmed to the Daily Mail that the Trump administration is working with the Kenyan government to set up a facility for asymptomatic people thought to have been exposed to the disease.

The statement said: ‘As part of the coordinated multinational response to the worsening Ebola health emergency, the US government is working with the Government of Kenya and other partners to plan a facility for asymptomatic individuals suspected of being exposed to the Ebola virus.

‘Kenya and the United States share a historic health partnership that has benefited both Americans and Kenyans for decades.

‘Our joint response to the current Ebola outbreak is a natural extension of our long-standing cooperation.’

The official added that the US government is ‘working very, very hard to contain this crisis in the countries where it is currently present’.

Pictured above, Red Cross workers are with Ebola virus victim Dr. Tibenderana is seen lowering Katho Blaise’s coffin into his grave at a cemetery near Bunia in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Congolese healthcare workers died from Ebola. Tibenderana Katho is seen paying tribute to Blaise

The CDC has a level 3 travel advisory for the DRC, advising Americans to ‘reconsider nonessential travel’ to the country’s Ituri, Nord-Kivu and Sud-Kivu provinces.

Ebola is spread through contact with the blood or body fluids of an infected person, as well as through contact with contaminated objects or infected animals such as bats or primates.

Agency officials say Americans should consider getting travel insurance if travel is absolutely necessary. They should also avoid contact with people showing Ebola symptoms, blood or other body fluids, or objects contaminated with them.

Travelers should also avoid contact with bats, wildebeest, primates, and the blood, fluids, or meat of these animals.

The CDC urges travelers to watch for Ebola symptoms for 21 days after leaving the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The agency has a level 2 travel advisory in place for Uganda and South Sudan, encouraging travelers to ‘take enhanced precautions’.

Estimates suggest there are as many as 5,000 Americans in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but it is unclear how many of them are in Uganda and South Sudan.

The image above is an advocacy poster displayed at Platinum Medical Center in Uganda.

American medical missionary doctor Dr. Peter Stafford contracted the Bundibugyo virus while serving in the Democratic Republic of Congo and was evacuated to the Charité Hospital in Germany.

At a news conference Wednesday, health officials said Stafford was weak but not in critical condition. Authorities said that he did not need intensive care and did not experience organ failure, and that his viral count decreased with antiviral drugs.

Stafford is treated in a completely isolated ward and can only see his family through the window. Authorities said her husband, Dr. He added that Rebekah Stafford tested negative for Ebola and remained asymptomatic, but the family was quarantined in a separate part of the unit.

Ebola’s presence in the Democratic Republic of Congo dates back to 1976, and the latest outbreak was the 17th outbreak in the country since then.

Previous outbreaks in eastern Congo in 2018 and 2020 each killed more than 1,000 people. The largest Ebola outbreak occurred in West Africa between 2014 and 2016, with more than 28,600 cases reported.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said that the current outbreak does not meet the criteria for a pandemic emergency, but countries that share borders with the DRC, such as Uganda and Rwanda, are at risk of further spread.

Ebola symptoms include fever, headache, muscle pain and weakness, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and unexplained bleeding or bruising.

Medical staff are seen carrying an Ebola patient at a hospital in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Workers from the Uganda Red Cross Society don their protective equipment as they prepare to evacuate the body of a suspected Ebola victim in Kampala

Ebola can cause serious illness, and if left untreated, the mortality rate is up to 90 percent.

The current outbreak is caused by Bundibugyo virus, a rare strain of Ebola for which there is no approved treatment or vaccine. This strain has only been implicated in two previous outbreaks in 2007 and 2012.

The mortality rate of the Bundibugyo virus varies between 25 and 50 percent.

The Zaire strain, the most common type of Ebola, can be treated with the drugs Inmazeb and Ebanga and the Ervebo vaccine, which was administered only during the epidemic.

“Unfortunately, Bundibugyo has fewer proven countermeasures than Zaire ebolavirus, for which vaccines are highly effective in controlling outbreaks,” Amanda Rojek, Associate Professor of Health Emergencies at the Institute of Pandemic Sciences at the University of Oxford, said in a statement.