Washington has restricted entry from the DR Congo, Uganda and South Sudan in the wake of the WHO declaring a global health emergency
The US has imposed emergency travel restrictions on foreign nationals arriving from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), Uganda and South Sudan due to an Ebola outbreak.
The US Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced Monday that non-US passport holders who visited any of the three countries within the past 21 days will be barred from entering the country.
The move comes after the DR Congo and Uganda confirmed their first Ebola cases on Friday. On Sunday, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a global public health emergency.
US authorities have confirmed that an American working in the DR Congo has tested positive for Ebola and is being evacuated to Germany for treatment. Six other Americans exposed to the virus are also under medical monitoring.
The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) reported on Monday that 395 suspected Ebola cases and 106 associated deaths have been recorded in the DR Congo as well as in Kampala, Uganda, where two confirmed cases and one death have been reported so far.
Bundibugyo virus is a rare strain of Ebola first identified in Uganda in 2007. Scientists believe it is naturally carried by fruit bats and can spread to humans through contact with infected animals before transmitting between people through bodily fluids. There is currently no approved vaccine or targeted treatment.
The WHO has reported that nearly seven tons of emergency medical supplies and equipment has arrived in Ituri Province in the DR Congo from Kinshasa, alongside a team of 35 experts to support frontline Ebola response efforts in the province.
Russia’s public health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, said that Russian specialists will travel to Uganda to conduct an epidemiological investigation and provide logistical support to the country’s Health Ministry. Moscow will also supply Ebola diagnostic tests developed by its research institutions.
In 2024, Russia transferred a mobile anti-epidemic laboratory to Ugandan partners, enabling the rapid diagnostics of dangerous infectious diseases.
The citizens of 11 African countries already face a complete suspension of both immigrant and nonimmigrant visas, effectively barring general entry into the US.
