Patience Atuhaire
Tuesday October 4, 2022
Health workers are at risk from treating Ebola patients
Health officials at a major Uganda-Kenya border crossing say they have intensified screening of cargo truckers and other travellers to prevent the export of Ebola cases.
An official at the Malaba border in the east told the BBC that teams had already been screening for several infectious diseases since the peak of the Coronavirus pandemic, but have now increased their level of alertness.
Health teams are taking details of travellers’ point of origin in Uganda, and checking for symptoms like fever, headaches and stomach pains.
Positive Ebola cases have been steadily rising. The latest figures from the health ministry show that confirmed cases now stand at 43, and nine of these have died.
One of them was a Tanzanian doctor, who died on Saturday. Dr Mohammed Ali was an intern at Mubende regional hospital where the first confirmed case had been treated.
The 37 year old was buried in western Uganda on Sunday, according to international health protocols for infectious disease epidemics.
Health teams say they have traced at least 800 people who are suspected to have come into contact with people who tested positive for Ebola. They are under observation.