JAKARTA - India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare advised citizens on May 23 to avoid non-essential travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and South Sudan after reported Ebola disease outbreaks linked to the Bundibugyo virus strain in DRC and Uganda.
The advisory affects Indian travellers planning to enter the three African countries and people arriving from areas with documented transmission.
The ministry said the World Health Organization determined on May 17 that the epidemic in DRC and Uganda constituted a Public Health Emergency of International Concern under the International Health Regulations. It also cited a May 22 meeting of the WHO IHR Emergency Committee, which issued temporary recommendations for countries responding to the outbreak.
The advisory said India has not reported any Ebola disease cases caused by the Bundibugyo virus strain. It also noted that no vaccines or specific treatments have been approved to prevent or treat disease caused by the strain, a point also stated by WHO in its outbreak updates. WHO urged countries to improve screening at airports and border crossings to “detect, assess, report and manage travellers with unexplained febrile illness arriving from areas with documented BDBV detection.”
WHO’s May 21 update said 746 suspected cases and 176 deaths among suspected cases had been reported in DRC as of May 21. It also recorded 85 confirmed cases across DRC and Uganda, including two in Uganda, and ten deaths among confirmed cases. Transmission in DRC was concentrated in Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu provinces.
WHO said Uganda had reported two imported cases with no confirmed local transmission as of May 21. It assessed the risk as very high at the national level in DRC, high at the regional level and low at the global level. The affected DRC areas also include commercial and migratory hubs close to Uganda and South Sudan.
The WHO Emergency Committee said temporary recommendations must be implemented with respect for dignity, human rights and fundamental freedoms under Article 3 of the International Health Regulations.
