KAMPALA, Uganda, Oct 26 — Uganda has ordered citizens returning from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to undergo a mandatory 21-day quarantine as authorities strengthen measures to prevent the spread of Ebola amid concerns over infections reported in Kenya and Nigeria.
Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi announced the measure on Sunday during a news conference in Kampala, saying Ugandans with a history of travel to the DRC would be required to quarantine at their own expense.
The directive comes as health authorities investigate the possible sources of Ebola infections involving a Ugandan-born woman who travelled to Nigeria and a Kenyan man who transited through Uganda after travelling to the DRC.
Uganda has also intensified screening at Entebbe International Airport and land border crossings, while requiring incoming travellers to complete forms providing contact information to facilitate follow-up if necessary.
The measures are intended to strengthen surveillance and reduce the risk of cross-border transmission, even as Uganda maintains that it has no active Ebola infections following the declaration of its previous outbreak as over in July.
Baryomunsi challenged conclusions linking the infection of a Ugandan-born woman married to a Swiss diplomat directly to travel in Uganda, saying investigators should establish all possible routes of exposure.
Swiss authorities have said the woman contracted Ebola during a visit to Uganda in September. Nigeria confirmed her infection on October 20 after she travelled to Abuja.
However, the Ugandan minister said relatives who had previously visited the DRC met the woman in a Kampala suburb, raising questions about whether possible exposure through those contacts had been adequately investigated.
“We should speak science, not politics,” Baryomunsi said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said in an update issued on October 23 that the information available to it did not indicate that the woman herself had travelled to the DRC.
Nigerian and Ugandan authorities are investigating her movements and possible source of infection.
The inquiry has heightened scrutiny of travel routes connecting the DRC, Uganda, Kenya and Nigeria as officials seek to establish whether the reported cases are epidemiologically linked.
Investigators are also examining the movements of a Kenyan man who travelled from the DRC through Uganda before flying to Nairobi on October 3
The man died two days later, and Kenya subsequently reported a second Ebola death.
Both the Kenyan patient and the woman whose infection was confirmed in Nigeria passed through Entebbe International Airport on the same day, prompting questions about possible contact between them.
Ugandan officials said security footage reviewed during the investigation showed no physical interaction between the two individuals.
Nigerian authorities said genetic testing found closely related viruses in the two cases, but a direct link had not been established.
The findings have left investigators working to determine whether the infections share a transmission chain or resulted from separate exposure events.
Uganda said 60 people traced following possible contact with the Kenyan patient had completed 21 days of monitoring and been discharged.
Uganda declared its Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak over on July 28, after recording 20 infections and two deaths, according to the country’s Health Ministry.
The latest quarantine directive reflects renewed concerns over the possibility of imported infections from neighbouring DRC, where the outbreak has continued to spread.
The Bundibugyo virus strain responsible for the current outbreak has no approved vaccine or specific treatment, making early detection, isolation and monitoring of contacts important components of the public health response.
Ebola spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people. Symptoms can take up to 21 days to appear, according to the WHO.
The DRC remains at the centre of the outbreak, which began in May and has spread across eight provinces.
By October 20, the WHO had recorded 9,704 cases and 4,687 deaths in the country, according to the figures cited in its outbreak reporting.
In its October 23 update, the WHO called for stronger surveillance and cooperation across borders to improve the detection and management of possible cases.
However, the agency advised against imposing travel or trade restrictions on affected countries.
Uganda’s new quarantine requirement comes as regional authorities seek to balance efforts to contain the outbreak with the need to maintain cross-border movement and cooperation.
The investigations in Uganda, Kenya and Nigeria are expected to help establish the source of the infections and determine whether additional public health measures are necessary.