Rwanda now screening visitors from USA, Spain too for Ebola

Rwanda now screening visitors from USA, Spain too for Ebola

The Rwanda ministry of Health has issued health safety guidelines to incoming passengers from Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, USA and Spain or traveled to those countries in the last 22 days.

The passengers are to call a toll free line (114) on a daily basis to report about their health status for the duration of their stay in the country or for 21 days if they are to stay longer.

Spain recorded deaths of two missionary priests who separately contracted Ebola in Sierra Leona and Liberia. However the Spanish nursing assistant who worked on them successfully recovered from the virus.

USA has recorded one death, two confirmed infections of two nurses while more than 100 are being tracked.

More than 45,000 have died of Ebola in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria (yesterday declared Ebola-free).

Press Release: Health Status of Uganda Regarding Marbug Virus, Ebola

Press Release
October 15th, 2014
Health Status of Uganda

Uganda Tourism Board informs all visitors, travellers and tourists, domestic and international that the Health status of the country is okay contrary to some media reports.
On 28th September 2014, one case of the Marburg hemorrhagic fever was reported and the people closest to this individual were immediately quarantined. Results after screening them confirmed negative of the Marburg virus and they still remain under the watch of health professionals.

As a country, we pride in the safety of all our visitors, tourists and nationals both in safety and health issues. To this effect, the Ministry of Health has urged members of the public to avoid unnecessary body contact such as handshakes.

We further wish to reiterate that Uganda is Ebola-free and to-date not a single case has been reported within our borders.

Whereas we pledge to keep all our visitors and travelers informed about the situation in the country, we also urge the media to report accurately and encourage visitors to come to our country.

Uganda Tourism Board
Plot 42, Windsor Crescent, Kololo
Tel: 0414 342 196/7 or Fax: 0414 342 188
E: utb@tourismuganda.info

2014 Africa Ebola Spread– Are travellers to Uganda, Rwanda Affected?

We understand that there is concern over the Ebola outbreak in West Africa and we would like to reassure everyone  that to date there have been no reported cases of Ebola in Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania,  Botswana, South Africa or Zambia.

The World Health Organization (WHO) states: 'The risk of a tourist or businessman/woman becoming infected with Ebola virus during a visit to the affected areas and developing disease after returning is extremely low, even if the visit included travel to the local areas from which primary cases have been reported. Transmission requires direct contact with blood, secretions, organs or other body fluids of infected living or dead persons or animal, all unlikely exposures for the average traveler’s.'

The WHO is also taking stringent measures in asking countries affected by Ebola to conduct exit screenings of people leaving at international airports, seaports and major land crossings in order to prevent the virus spreading. The Government of Kenya has further decided to temporarily suspend entry into Kenya of passengers travelling from and through the affected West African countries.

See more details at http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/resources/distribution-map-guinea-outbreak.html

The map above is a cartographer's representation highlighting the vastness of Africa in comparison to other countries. This will help you to better visualize the distance between the affected Ebola areas and our camps and lodges.

Ebola Spread in 2014
In March hospital staff alerted Guinea's Ministry of Health and then the charity Medecins Sans Frontieres, (MSF). They reported a mysterious disease in the south-eastern regions of Gueckedou, Macenta, Nzerekore, and Kissidougou.

It caused fever, diarrhoea and vomiting. It also had a high death rate. Of the first 86 cases, 59 people died.

The WHO later confirmed the disease as Ebola.

The disease spreads

Gueckedou is a major regional trading centre and by the end of March, Ebola had crossed the border into Liberia and it was confirmed in Sierra Leone during May.

In June, MSF described the Ebola outbreak as out of control.

Nigeria had its first case of the disease in July and in the same month two leading doctors died from Ebola in Liberia and Sierra Leone.

We will update you accordingly should this position change.

Uganda Ebola Outbreak not Affecting Tourism Zones: Bwindi, Kibale N.P Ebola Free

Last evening, the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Heritage-Uganda issued a statement about the recent Ebola outbreak in some parts of the country.

The statement reads, "There has been over exaggeration by the media of especially the International Media about Ebola Outbreak in Uganda. We wish to assure our stakeholders that the Ebola outbreak is in a specific place and Government through Ministry of Health and WHO have already established all necessary measures to contain the situation. There is no Ebola outbreak reported in any of our Tourism Zones and our visitors should not worry about any potential risk as preventive measures are already in place to avoid any incident."

Chimpanzee in Kibale National Park  - www.gorillasandwildlifesafaris.com

 The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) has also confirmed that Kibaale National Park is safe and far from Kibaale district, the epic centre of the deadly Ebola disease.

The wildlife body said the national park, a home to chimpanzees and famous for chimp-tracking activities, is functioning normally and far from the Ebola threat.
The authority in a statement signed by the acting executive director, Dr. Andrew Seguya noted that the park which straddles the districts of Kamwenge and Kabarole is over 90km from Kibaale district.

"The chimpanzees in Kibaale National Park are not the cause of the Ebola outbreak and they are safe to track," Seguya noted in the statement.

Chimp-tracking is a major source of revenue for Uganda’s tourism industry.

The national park is currently handling up to 50 tourists a day from all corners of the world. Other nearby game parks like Queen Elizabeth National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park are also operating normally.

But UWA acknowledged the threat and a number of safety tips, advising tourists to among other things avoid making unnecessary stopovers en route to the national parks and also desist from shaking hands with anyone.

The authority advised tour companies to ascertain in advance the safety routes to national parks and cautioned tourists and their minders to avoid eating in restaurants outside their places of abode.

Government recently announced a fresh outbreak of the Ebola disease which by Wednesday this week had left 25 people admitted.

Related stories you may be interested in:

Uganda Ebola Outbreak Under Control - World Health Organisation
Uganda Cuts Gorilla Trek Permit Prices to $350
Breaking News: Mountain Gorillas Population in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park shoots up to 400 (2011 Census Results Release)

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Uganda Ebola Outbreak Under Control - World Health Organisation

 The World Health Organization has said that authorities are halting the spread of Ebola.

Joaquim Saweka, the WHO representative in Uganda, told reporters in Kampala that everyone known to have had contact with Ebola victims has been isolated.

Health officials have created an "Ebola contact list" with names of people who had even the slightest contact with those who contracted Ebola. The list now bears 176 names.

"The structure put in place is more than adequate," Saweka said. "We are isolating the suspected or confirmed cases."

Ebola was confirmed in Uganda on July 28, several days after a few people died in a remote corner of western Uganda. At least 16 Ugandans have died of the disease.

Saweka said that organizations such as Doctors Without Borders and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are helping Ugandan officials to control the spread of Ebola.

This is the fourth outbreak of Ebola in Uganda since 2000, when the disease killed 224 people and left hundreds more traumatized in northern Uganda.

Ebola is highly infectious and kills quickly. The disease was first reported in 1976 in Congo and is named for the river where it was recognized, according to the CDC.

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