TZW
Already, sensors and medical personnel to man them have been installed at the Kilimanjaro International Airport, according to the Acting Managing Director of Kilimanjaro Airports Development Company (KADCO), Engineer Christopher Mukoma.
The EAC Secretariat in Arusha is also following suit.Five out of six EAC partner states share borders with the DRC, and all of them maintain close trade relations with high border traffic.
A statement from the EAC Headquarters here, reveals that there are also direct flights between the DRC and individual East African partner states.
These factors have caused the EAC to be on high alert. Partner states have put safety measures in place that range from screening people arriving from DRC at the border posts for signs of the disease to alerting health personnel, enhancing diagnostic capacities at major research centres, and informing citizens of the risk and of preventive measures.
To date, no cases of Ebola have been detected in the EAC region.
On 8 May, 2018, the Ministry of Health of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) declared an outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the Bikoro Health Zone, Equateur Province in the western part of the country.
By 15 May, 2018, a total of 44 EVD cases (three confirmed) had been reported with 19 deaths, including three healthcare workers.
As of 16 May, 393 contacts had been identified and are being followed. A new confirmed case in the 1.2 million people town of Mbandaka, some 150 km away from Bikoro, increases the risk of spreading of the disease.
The World Health Organisation (WHO), Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), the International Committee of the Red Cross and other international organisations are on site and supporting the DRC in the fight against the outbreak, the ninth that has occurred in the country.