Tanzania screens travellers, trains communities on Ebola prevention

Tanzania has begun training border communities on preventive measures as well as screening passengers following the Ebola outbreak in neighbouring Uganda.

The trainings for local communities in eight district councils in Kagera region, northern Tanzania, are being carried out by health services officers.

The country has been on high alert since Uganda confirmed an outbreak on its soil.

Read: Tanzanian doctor becomes second health worker to die of Ebola in Uganda

Early this week, Health Minister Ummy Mwalimu and medical experts visited the region and ordered local officials to deny entry into the hinterlands to anyone infected with or suspected to have Ebola—the patients will, instead, be taken to designated camps for quarantine.

Ministry reports show that about 6,000 people have been screened at the border, among them 500 truck drivers.

Tanzania has not recorded any cases of Ebola, said Beatrice Mutayoba, the Director of Disease Control from the Ministry. However, the country is taking precautionary measures to prevent and, if need be, combat the Ebola Virus Disease.

So far, Uganda has so far recorded 44 cases of Ebola infections and 10 deaths, among them health workers.

Read: Ebola survivors to forego sex for 90 days

Ugandan Health Minister Jane Ruth Aceng has urged all health workers to wear protective gear in the course of duty to prevent infections.

The country has also called for mask wearing and hand washing to prevent spread of Ebola, which is transmitted from person to person through contact with an infected person’s fluids. The virus can also be transmitted through infected animals. Its main symptoms include being fever, vomiting, diarrhoea and bleeding.