Uganda has confirmed six new Ebola cases, raising the country’s total to 15, the health ministry said on Tuesday, as the U.N. migration agency warned that border closures could increase the risk of the virus spreading through informal crossings.
The health ministry said the six new cases were contacts of previously confirmed patients. It said two people had been discharged from hospital, 12 remained admitted and one death had been recorded.
The outbreak involves the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola and has spread across the border from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which remains at the centre of the crisis. Uganda has closed its border with Congo in an effort to limit transmission.
But the U.N. International Organization for Migration said border closures may push people toward less monitored crossing points, raising the risk of further spread.
The agency said its monitoring data showed that people were still moving across borders, underlining the need for regional coordination rather than isolated national measures.
“The confirmation of cross-border transmission of the virus in the DRC and Uganda is a stark reminder that disease surveillance is only as strong as the weakest point along a shared border,” IOM spokesperson Zoe Brennan told reporters in Geneva.
Ugandan government spokesperson Alan Kasujja said authorities were working to protect citizens and acknowledged that some people might try to bypass official border posts.
“But the communities along the borders are sensitized on the Ebola situation and they will do everything to protect themselves,” he said.
The World Health Organization said on Tuesday that Congo’s outbreak had reached 321 confirmed cases, with a further 116 suspected cases.