Ebola: Africa CDC briefs President Museveni on current status
Dr. Jean Kaseya, Director General of Africa CDC, highlighted the need to establish a continental Incident Management Support Team for Ebola in Kampala to strengthen coordination and monitoring efforts.
President Museveni (C) with the CDC Director General of Africa Dr. Jean Kaseya (on his R) and his delegation during a meeting at State House Entebbe on Friday. PPU Photo
KAMPALA - President Yoweri Museveni has held talks with a delegation from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), who he hosted at State House, Entebbe.
The delegation on Friday, May 22, briefed the President on the current status of the Ebola outbreak and assured him that the situation is being appropriately managed.
Dr. Jean Kaseya, Director General of Africa CDC, highlighted the need to establish a continental Incident Management Support Team for Ebola in Kampala to strengthen coordination and monitoring efforts.
A release from the Presidential Press Unit states that President Museveni welcomed the proposal and pledged Uganda’s full support.
“Ebola only becomes deadly when there is lack of attention. Otherwise, it is very manageable,” the Museveni observed.
The CDC Director General of Africa Dr. Jean Kaseya (C) and his delegation during a meeting with President museveni at State House Entebbe on Friday. (L) is Ministry of Health PS Dr. Diana Atwine. PPU Photo.
Dignitaries at the meeting included Dr. Diana Atwine, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health and other officials from the Ministry.
With the spread of the Ebola Virus Disease caused by the Bundibugyo strain (BUDV), currently affecting parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Ministry of Health has issued more restrictions to deter the spread in Uganda.
They include: temporary suspension of all flights to and from the DRC to Uganda, starting early Saturday; suspension of all weekly markets in the Border Sub-counties of the high-risk districts; and enhanced Border security patrols along the Porous borders to minimise cross-border movement.
President Museveni interacts with the CDC Director General of Africa Dr. Jean Kaseya (C) and his delegation during a meeting at State House Entebbe on Friday. (2nd R) is Ministry of Health PS Dr Diana Atwine.
The outbreak, initially reported in Ituri Province, has now affected North Kivu and South Kivu.
On Friday, May 22, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the World Health Organisation (WHO), said there were now nearly 750 suspected cases in the DR Congo and 177 suspected deaths.
“The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is spreading rapidly,” Tedros said.
“We are now revising our risk assessment to very high at the national level, high at the regional level, and low at the global level. So far, 82 cases have been confirmed in DRC, with seven confirmed deaths. But we know the epidemic in DRC is much larger. There are now almost 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths,” he stated during a press conference in Geneva.