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Ebola suspect held at Entebbe airport
Publish Date: Aug 18, 2014
Uganda is on high alert following an outbreak of Ebola in West Africa that has killed over 1,000 people. Here, a member of the cleaning staff cleans and desinfects a car in Biankouma during a simulation operation organized by the Ivory Coast Health Ministry to train medical staff to treat potential patients with Ebola. (AFP)
ENTEBBE - Authorities at Entebbe Airport have placed an unidentified woman traveling from Nigeria under isolation, after she developed signs of Ebola virus disease.
The Ministry of health on Monday confirmed that tests had been carried out on the patient to determine if she has Ebola.
“It is true that someone suspected to have Ebola was been isolated. Samples from the patient have been taken to the Uganda Virus Research Institute in Entebbe and test results will be out in 24 hours,” the health ministry’s spokesperson, Rukia Nakamatte said
She, however, said preliminary investigations had shown that the suspect did not have contact with confirmed cases, one of the ways Ebola is transmitted.
Ebola is spread by contact with an infected person's bodily fluids, such as sweat and blood, and no cure or vaccine is currently available.
The disease has so far killed more than 1,415 people in Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.
Details of the Ebola suspect have not been disclosed but she was said to be a university student.
An MSF medical worker wearing protective clothing washes his gloves in chlorine at an MSF Ebola treatment facility in Kailahun. (AFP)
West Africa travels cut
Kenya’s Health Cabinet Secretary, James Macharia on Saturday said the country would close its borders to travellers from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Tanzanian Health Ministry advised citizens to postpone all travel to countries where the disease has been detected. Rwanda’s health ministry said its surveillance and emergency management systems were on alert.
All East African Community (EAC) countries have stepped up disease surveillance at their major airports by establishing screening centres.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the epidemic an international health emergency and appealed for global aid to stem the spread.
In a show of solidarity, Canada and the United States have pledged to send consignments of experimental drugs to the West African nations.
Last week, WHO lowered the risk of transmission of Ebola virus during air travel and did not recommend a ban on international travel or trade.
Experts maintained, unlike infections such as influenza or tuberculosis, the risk of transmission during travel was low since Ebola is not airborne.
Ebola crisis: In pictures
Publish Date: Aug 18, 2014
Publish Date: Aug 18, 2014
On Sunday, a student of International University in Uganda was retained at Entebbe International Airport after showing symptoms of the deadly Ebola disease. The student, a top health official said, was traveling from Lagos, Nigeria aboard a Kenya Airways plane. Uganda has been on alert since the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa.
The virus has claimed more than 1,000 lives in West Africa
(PHOTOS by AFP)
A girl suspected of being infected with the Ebola virus has her temperature checked at the government hospital in Kenema, Sierra Leone, on August 16, 2014. Kenema hospital estimates that 15 of their staff have died treating Ebola patients, at least 12 of them were nurses.
A fresh bushmeat roasts at the Ajegunle-Ikorodu market in Lagos, Nigeria. Infected animals such as chimpanzees, gorillas, fruit bats, monkeys, forest antelope and porcupines found ill or dead or in the rainforest are being considered to be the natural host of the Ebola virus.
The outbreak of the deadly Ebola fever has rekindled concerns about the health risks of age-old African hunting and eating traditions that bring humans into close contact with wild forest animals. Here, a woman roasts a fresh bushmeat at the Ajegunle-Ikorodu market.
Vivian Koshefobamu, a 45-year-old bushmeat seller, speaks in front of dried bushmeat, at the Ajegunle-Ikorodu market.
The death toll from an Ebola outbreak that began at the start of the year stands at 1,145 in four afflicted west African countries: Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nigeria. Kailahun, the traditional home of around 30,000 mainly Mende tribespeople, and Kenema account for the lion's share of Sierra Leone's 810 cases and 384 deaths.
A Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) medical worker wearing protective clothing incinerates contaminated items after handling the body of an Ebola victim at the MSF facility in Kailahun.
An MSF medical worker feeds an Ebola child victim at an MSF facility in Kailahun. More than 1,000 lives has been lost in West Africa due to the Ebola virus, according to official reports.
An MSF medical worker checks his protective clothing in a mirror at an MSF facility in Kailahun.
A woman looks at the obituary notices for medical staff who have died from the Ebola virus at the Kenema government hospital, in Sierra Leone, on August 16, 2014. Kenema hospital estimates that 15 of their staff have died treating ebola patients, at least 12 of them were nurses. Kailahun, the traditional home of around 30,000 mainly Mende tribespeople, and Kenema account for the lion's share of Sierra Leone's 810 cases and 384 deaths.
A man carries a placard reading "Kandopleu let's say stop to Ebola fever" in Kandopleu near Biankouma. Ivory Coast announced on August 11, 2014 that it has banned all flights from countries hit by Ebola as part of steps to prevent the deadly virus from reaching the west African nation.
An Ivorian policeman wears a face mask and gloves to protect himself from the Ebola virus in Kandopleu near Biankouma close to the border with Guinea and Liberia.
Denis Diomande, the "Griot" (storyteller) of the village of Kandopleu speaks in a megaphone to inform inhabitants of the prophylactic measures against Ebola fever near the border with Guinea and Liberia.
Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) medical staff wearing protective clothing treat the body of an Ebola victim at their facility in Kailahun last week. The Ebola epidemic in West Africa claimed a fourth victim in Nigeria on August 14 while the United States ordered the evacuation of diplomats' families from Sierra Leone and analysts warned of a heavy economic toll on the stricken region.
Health Organisations are looking into the possible use of experimental drugs to combat the latest outbreak in West Africa. Here, an MSF medical worker wearing protective clothing washes his gloves in chlorine at an MSF Ebola treatment facility in Kailahun. Kailahun along with Kenama district is at the epicentre of the world's worst Ebola outbreak.
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