Residents of Kasese district particularly those living closer to the border areas have been cautioned over the outbreak of Ebola in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo.
Health authorities and local leaders gave the warning after the regional office for Africa of the World Health Organization-WHO, said that one new case of Ebola was confirmed in Beni Health Zone in the North Kivu Province and 160 contacts of the confirmed case have been identified for close monitoring of their health last week.
According to Patrick Bikansobera the surveillance focal person for the lake region in Kasese, the epicenter of the current outbreak is close to Uganda’s border to the West. He says that the disease can easily spread to the districts neighboring DRC due to cross-border movements. He called for the screening of all persons crossing into Uganda from DRC.
Bikansobera encourages the community to report any suspected case to the nearest Village Health Teams or local leaders, adding that they have established a “rumor” log book where all suspected cases are reported by the community members, recorded and a medical team dispatched to follow up and verify.
Dr. Yusuf Baseka the Kasese District Health Officer-DHO says the community needs to be extra vigilant when they cross into DRC. He, however, says that screening for all other epidemics has been routine along the border points, which gives the district a better chance to respond to any alert.
Kasese LC V Chairperson, Eliphazi Muhindi, says a task force is in place to deal with any case and raise awareness among the community.
