Entebbe Airport Ebola Probe Focuses on Travelers Who Left Uganda on Oct. 3

Health experts are examining whether two Ebola patients who travelled through Uganda's Entebbe Airport on 3 October may have come into contact there, Dr Wessam Mankoula, head of health emergencies at the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), said at a media briefing on Thursday.

The question matters for travellers because both patients flew out of Uganda on the same day, and officials are still trying to establish how one of them became infected.

Key facts

• 3 October: the date on which the Nigerian and Kenyan patients may have crossed paths at Entebbe Airport.
• The Nigerian patient flew from Uganda to Abuja; the Kenyan patient flew to Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
• The Kenyan man died of Ebola two days after arrival; eight of his contacts were infected and are in quarantine.
• Forty-four of the Nigerian patient's "high risk" contacts are in quarantine in a designated facility.
• The DRC–Uganda land border is open only to goods trucks and for humanitarian reasons.
• DRC outbreak figures as of 20 October: 9,704 confirmed cases and 4,687 deaths.

What is being investigated?

Mankoula said a possible encounter at Entebbe Airport between the two patients is one of the theories being examined as experts try to work out how the woman in Nigeria was infected. He cautioned that many possibilities remain open and that the source of infection had not been established.

What happened to the two patients?

The Nigerian patient, identified by Mankoula as the Ugandan-born wife of a Swiss diplomat in Nigeria, had visited Uganda for two weeks from mid-September. Uganda had been declared Ebola-free since August, after containing an outbreak caused by a case imported from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

She fell ill on 7 October, was admitted to a health facility on 11 October and was initially diagnosed with malaria. On 19 October the facility suspected Ebola and tested her that day; the test confirmed Ebola, and after a follow-up test the next day the outbreak was announced.

The Kenyan man had spent several weeks in the DRC and was collected at the airport by a relative who drove him straight to Nairobi Hospital, where he died of Ebola two days later. Four health workers and four relatives have since been infected. Mankoula said all eight are in quarantine and that Kenya has traced all known contacts; 118 of the man's 135 contacts are in quarantine.

What are the border rules between DRC and Uganda?

Mankoula said the land border is open only to trucks carrying goods and for humanitarian reasons, but that illegal crossings are still being reported. He said the Kenyan patient had crossed from DRC into Uganda illegally.

He urged countries neighbouring the DRC, particularly in the north where the outbreak is centred, to ensure screening at points of entry and strong surveillance to detect cases that may have been asymptomatic during travel. South Sudan, Central African Republic, Burundi and Rwanda are most at risk, he said.

How big is the DRC outbreak?

Figures from the DRC dated 20 October showed 9,704 confirmed cases and 4,687 deaths, with Ituri and North Kivu provinces accounting for 94% of cases. Reported cases have declined slightly since epidemiological week 37, but Mankoula cautioned that reporting lags, community resistance, security and operational challenges make it too early to call this a sustained decrease. More than 80% of cases are still coming from outside contact lists, and over half of deaths are occurring in communities.

What this means for travellers

Travellers passing through Entebbe Airport or other entry points in the region should expect Ebola screening and surveillance measures, which officials say are needed to detect cases that may have been asymptomatic while travelling. The source of the Nigerian patient's infection remains unconfirmed, and the investigation is continuing.

No further decisions or measures have been announced. Officials said the investigation is ongoing and urged against drawing conclusions before it is complete.