Uganda on alert as Ebola fever breaks out in DR Congo

KAMPALA, Jan. 1 (Chinese media) -- Uganda is on high alert as an outbreak of the

dreaded Ebola hemorrhagic fever has occurred in the neighboring Democratic

Republic of Congo (DR Congo), local media reported.

According to the Director General of Health Services Dr Sam Zaramba, the

Health Ministry has communicated to immigration staff at Uganda's western border

points to monitor people coming from DR Congo.

"We have asked immigration officials to immediately contact our medical

staff in the vicinity in case of any suspicion," Zaramba was quoted by Daily

Monitor on Thursday as saying.

With some people reluctant to disclose their exact areas of origin for fear

of being inconvenienced and perhaps quarantined, it remains a challenge how the

immigration staff will handle the situation. However, Uganda is yet to issue any

alerts or tight border controls.

"The WHO has not prompted us and there are minimal chances that the

epidemic will reach here because the outbreak is far away from the borders and

international efforts are underway to contain it there," added Zaramba.

DR Congo's Ministry of Health declared on Dec. 25 that there was an

outbreak of the Ebola hemorrhagic fever in Mweka District, Kasai Occidental

province.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday that of 35 suspected

cases, including 11 deaths, in western Kasai province, only two were confirmed

as Ebola, and both these patients were still alive.

A major Ebola outbreak in DR Congo, then known as Zaire, in 1995 killed 250

out of the 315 people known to have been infected, including health workers who

contacted with infected blood.

Late 2007, Uganda suffered an Ebola outbreak in the western district of

Bundibugyo, which claimed 37 lives out of the 148 infected. And since this

outbreak that was officially declared over on Feb. 20, 2008, Ugandan Health

Ministry has been on the alert for any eventualities.

Ebola virus is highly contagious and causes a range of symptoms including

fever, vomiting, diarrhea, generalized pain or malaise and in many cases

internal and external bleeding.

Mortality rates of Ebola fever are extremely high, with the human

case-fatality rate ranging from 50 percent to 89 percent, depending on viral

subtype.