US to screen Uganda passengers for Ebola virus as cases surge

The United States will begin screening passengers travelling from Uganda for the Ebola virus as it surges in the African country.

The Biden administration says that although no cases of the highly-contagious disease have been reported in the US, people who have visited the country will be redirected to five airports where they can be checked for it.

The screenings have been ordered by the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the State Department says that it applies to all passengers, including US citizens.

The screenings will start for some passengers on Thursday and the restriction will go into full effect next week, an official told The New York Times.

The five airports that provide enhanced screenings are in the New York City area, Atlanta, Chicago, or Washington.

That official, who is familiar with the plan, said that the restrictions and an alert to doctors were issued as a precaution.

The CDC said it had issued its advisory on Thursday to “remind clinicians about best practices” about Ebola.

The federal agency has also urged doctors to obtain a travel history from any patients they suspect of having Ebola.

“While there are no direct flights from Uganda to the United States, travellers from or passing through affected areas in Uganda can enter the United States on flights connecting from other countries,” the CDC alert stated.

Ebola is spread only through contact with infected bodily fluids and is not an airborne virus.

Symptoms include fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, muscle pain, as well as internal and external bleeding.

The current outbreak of the Sudan strain of the virus in central Uganda reportedly has a 69 per cent case fatality rate and has claimed 30 lives, including four health workers. There have been 43 confirmed cases, reports the Associated Press.

Uganda has suffered multiple Ebola outbreaks, including one in 2000 in which more than 200 people died.