Uganda calls for travel restrictions to be lifted after last Ebola patient discharged | Global health
After Uganda discharged its last confirmed Ebola patient from hospital, it began lobbying countries to lift Ebola-related travel restrictions.
The discharge of a Congolese national from the isolation center of the Mulago national referral hospital in Kampala on Thursday triggered the start of the 42-day countdown required by the World Health Organization before Uganda can be officially declared Ebola-free unless a new infection is detected.
The epidemic in the country infected 20 people and caused two deaths.
Fifteen countries continue to maintain partial or full travel restrictions to Uganda following the outbreak; The government said these measures were disrupting tourism, trade and commerce despite the country’s relatively successful response.
USA left Uganda in a difficult situation fourth level consultation We are against all travel due to the Ebola epidemic. Countries such as North Korea, Somalia, Afghanistan and Russia are also included in the same category.
“As we make progress in managing this disease, we are asking these countries to open up so that the economy is not damaged,” Ugandan health minister Dr Chris Baryomunsi said in a statement after the discharge ceremony of the last patient.
Baryomunsi said the country is not yet free of Ebola, and according to WHO guidelines, countries must complete two consecutive 21-day incubation periods without recording a new case before declaring the epidemic officially over.
“This is an imported epidemic. We are on high alert because what we are celebrating here is different from what is happening in the Democratic Republic of Congo,” he said.
The Democratic Republic of Congo reported Thursday that the number of confirmed cases in the country had risen to 2,073 as of July 14, including 796 deaths. The epidemic caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the virus was first declared by WHO on May 17.
The outbreak in Uganda differed significantly from previous Ebola emergencies in the region; There were only two deaths and 20 confirmed infections, including 15 Congolese nationals, four healthcare workers and one driver.
WHO’s representative in Uganda, Dr. Kasonde Mwinga said the country’s response demonstrated the value of continued investment in pandemic preparedness.
“The case fatality rate below 10% is among the lowest recorded in Ebola outbreaks, as the lowest rate was always 30%. This is not by chance. It is because people are investing in preparedness,” he said.
Mwinga said that before the outbreak, Uganda established treatment facilities, trained emergency medical teams and pre-positioned medical supplies, allowing authorities to respond quickly when cases were detected.
The outbreak has also accelerated scientific efforts to develop a vaccine against the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which no licensed vaccine exists.
Uganda Ministry of Health Clinical Services Commissioner Dr. Ronnie Bahatungire said the country has already participated in trials involving experimental treatments during the pandemic and plans to participate in vaccine studies. “At whatever point in time an opportunity arises, we will participate,” Bahatungire said.
This week the University of Oxford Oxford Vaccine Group launched the world’s first Phase I clinical trial In response to the outbreak, the first patient of BD-Ebov, a vaccine candidate targeting the Bundibugyo strain, has already been enrolled.
Despite Uganda’s progress, officials said the threat persists across the border. Baryomunsi said Ugandan presidents Yoweri Museveni and Democratic Republic of Congo’s Félix Tshisekedi agreed to closer cross-border cooperation and signed a bilateral memorandum of understanding, while Uganda has already sent health experts to Democratic Republic of Congo to contain the outbreak and stop Congolese from traveling to Uganda to seek medical attention.
“So far, we have sent 50 healthcare workers with 4 laboratories and they have been established in 4 different locations. We agreed that if they need additional human resources, we will send more depending on the course of the situation,” Baryomunsi said.
