Returning Ugandans with a history of travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo face 21 days in quarantine under an Ebola measure announced Sunday by Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi.
In an Oct. 20 statement, Uganda's Ministry of Health said it had no confirmed active Ebola cases and that a Nigerian patient passed through the country without symptoms; the transit did not establish where she was infected. The ministry's account appeared in an earlier report on Uganda's screening plan.
Baryomunsi said the 60 people monitored because of links to a Kenyan Ebola case finished the 21-day period and were released. The tracing effort included hotels and transport companies tied to the travelers, along with the Ugandan border points where they crossed in or out, he said.
Baryomunsi said the Ministry of Health had increased traveler checks at Entebbe International Airport and Uganda's land border crossings. He said people planning to enter the country by air, land or water must fill out a passenger locator form.
Reuters reported officials were reviewing the Nigerian case's genomic sequencing, the patient's travel, interactions and movements, working with authorities in Nigeria and international partners. Reuters said the virus in Nigeria's only confirmed case was closely related to the one in Kenya's index case; Nigerian officials said they found no evidence connecting the cases or showing the Kenyan patient had traveled to Nigeria.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reported 9,704 confirmed cases and 4,687 deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo's outbreak as of Oct. 20. Reuters noted that Uganda has faced Ebola outbreaks in the past.
