South Sudan steps up Ebola screening at Juba airport and border after Kenya case

South Sudan has stepped up nationwide Ebola preparedness and surveillance after Kenya confirmed an imported case of Bundibugyo virus disease, the Ministry of Health said on Wednesday 7 October, Xinhua reported from Juba. The ministry said no cases have been detected in South Sudan and the health system has been placed on high alert.

Screening is under way at points of entry, along the border in 15 high-risk counties and at Juba International Airport, the ministry said.

Caretaker Minister for Health Dak Duop Bichiok said at a press conference in Juba, as quoted by Xinhua, that "the geographical expansion of the outbreak to Kenya further increases the risk of cross-border spread."

Ader Machar Aciek, acting executive director of the National Public Health Institute, said a national task force has been set up and is meeting regularly to coordinate preparedness work. He said South Sudan has set up eight specialised infectious disease units to isolate and treat patients if any cases are confirmed.

Moses Ongom, the World Health Organization's Officer in Charge in South Sudan, said national response preparedness has risen from 29 per cent in May and 45 per cent in June to 65 per cent now, as quoted by Xinhua. Tolbert Geewleh Nyenswah, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention's country director in South Sudan, said the country has active systems for surveillance, detection, rapid response and laboratory testing.

The ministry advised the public to wash hands regularly and avoid direct contact with people who have Ebola-like symptoms. Anyone with fever, vomiting, diarrhoea or unexplained bleeding should go to the nearest health facility or call the toll-free hotline, 6666.

The World Health Organization's Regional Office for Africa said on 6 October that Kenya had confirmed its first imported case of Bundibugyo virus disease, making Kenya the fourth country to confirm the disease. The patient, a Kenyan citizen, fell ill in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, travelled by road through Beni to Kampala, Uganda, on 2 October and flew to Nairobi, arriving on 3 October. The patient was isolated in a Nairobi hospital and died on the night of 5 October, the WHO office said. Kenyan health authorities had listed 28 contacts, including family members and health workers who cared for the patient, and were tracing 23 passengers and four crew members from the same flight. As of 6 October, Kenya had screened more than 652,000 travellers entering the country.

South Sudan had already been screening travellers before Kenya's case. The Standard reported on 13 July that screening had been stepped up at five major entry points: Nimule, Kaya, Olipui, River Yei and Juba International Airport.

WHO's regional director for Africa, Dr Mohamed Janabi, said in the 6 October statement: "The priority now is to move swiftly to detect any further cases before the virus has an opportunity to spread."