According to the US embassy in Uganda, all US-bound airline passengers who have been in the country in the 21 days before their arrival will be routed to one of five US airports for enhanced Ebola screening. Some 44 cases have been reported and 10 people have died from Ebola in Uganda.
Medical researchers in Uganda say the Ebola virus circulating in the country has mutated.
According to Professor Pontiano Kaleebu of the Uganda Virus Research Institute, there is no evidence that the mutant is any more transmissible than the original strain.
Researchers tracking its spread say the genetic makeup of the virus looks similar to one responsible for another outbreak over a decade ago in the same region.
The samples analysed from the first known case indicate its spread to five districts in Central Uganda.
Studies done in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo show that repeat outbreaks can occur, but not more than two years after the first one has been declared over.
Experts believe this outbreak may have been introduced to humans by an animal. Scientists are now racing against time to locate the first person to have contracted the disease – the index case – or their direct contact. That would help response teams to better understand how the outbreak started.
