WHO assesses Ebola preparedness at Uganda's Kasese amid outbreak scare

World Health Organization (WHO) and Uganda's Health Ministry delegations have visited the border town of Kasese district to assess Ebola preparedness as outbreak scare persists with hundreds of people at high risk of the deadly disease.

There have been a total of three confirmed cases of Ebola virus disease in Uganda, all three had recently travelled to the DRC, and all succumbed to the disease.

Uganda shares a nearly 900-kilometre-long border with the DRC, where the disease has claimed over 1,400 lives since August 2018. Along much of the border, people mix and move across freely, often with family, friends and business contacts on both sides.

@JaneRuth_Aceng, @MoetiTshidi and teams from @MinofHealthUG and @WHO inspect the Ebola screening point at Mpondwe border. pic.twitter.com/yEU2ExC22S

— Ministry of Health- Uganda (@MinofHealthUG) June 26, 2019

The @WHO Delegation led by @MoetiTshidi and @JaneRuth_Aceng and @tegegny has visited Mpondwe border point in Kasese District to asses the ongoing #Ebola preparedness and response activities. These include hand washing, infection prevention and coordination #Uganda pic.twitter.com/Y0dXfGtUgC

— WHO Uganda (@WHOUganda) June 26, 2019

In response to the deadly disease, 108 of their contacts are registered for follow-up. Since the outbreak was declared, 980 people at high risk of Ebola have been vaccinated. There currently are no new confirmed cases of Ebola in Uganda.