Uganda has urged communities to report suspected unauthorised border crossings as authorities strengthen surveillance and screening measures following the spread of Bundibugyo virus disease in parts of Africa.
The health authorities also advised travellers and residents to remain calm, observe proper hand hygiene and cooperate with screening procedures and other public health measures.
Uganda previously recorded an outbreak of Bundibugyo virus disease after cases were imported from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in May 2026.
The country confirmed 20 cases, including two deaths, before declaring the outbreak over in August after 42 days without a new locally acquired infection.
According to figures from the World Health Organisation (WHO), the DRC had recorded 9,704 confirmed cases and 4,687 deaths across eight provinces as of October 20.
Uganda’s latest announcement followed its October 21 clarification that a Nigerian patient’s transit through the country did not establish where she contracted the virus.
The ministry said preliminary information indicated that the patient had travelled to eastern DRC for business before passing through Uganda.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, said on Friday that genomic analysis revealed a high degree of similarity between the virus detected in Nigeria’s patient and the one identified in Kenya’s first imported case.
Pate, however, stressed that the finding did not establish that the Nigerian patient contracted the virus in Kenya, noting that there was no evidence she had travelled to the country.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) had earlier said it was investigating a possible link between the cases because both patients passed through Uganda’s Entebbe International Airport on October 3.
Kenya’s first case involved a traveller who arrived from the DRC through Uganda.
The report stated that Kenya subsequently recorded nine confirmed cases, including two deaths, with eight additional infections linked to the first patient.
Health authorities continue to emphasise surveillance, screening, hygiene and cooperation with public health measures as efforts to contain the outbreak continue across the affected countries.
