Rwanda shuts border after DR Congo Ebola outbreak spreads to Goma

The latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has spread to Goma, a rebel-controlled city of more than one million people located near the Rwandan border, prompting Rwanda to close major border crossings on Sunday, News.Az reports, citing Xinhua.

Cross-border movement between Goma, the capital of North Kivu province in eastern DRC, and Rwanda’s Rubavu-Gisenyi area was suspended Sunday morning at border posts, according to observations by Xinhua correspondents.

The shutdown disrupted activity at one of the busiest crossings shared by the two neighboring countries.

Prosper Mulindwa, mayor of Rubavu District in Rwanda’s Western Province, told local media that the border closure would remain in effect indefinitely as part of efforts to stop the spread of Ebola.

“The borders connecting Goma and Gisenyi have been temporarily closed in response to the Ebola outbreak. We will continue engaging with our residents to explain why this decision was made,” Mulindwa said.

At present, only Congolese and Rwandan citizens returning to their home countries are permitted to cross the border, while all other travel remains suspended pending further instructions, according to a diplomatic source.

However, the WHO stated Sunday that countries should avoid shutting borders or imposing restrictions on travel and trade.

A laboratory-confirmed Ebola case has now been identified in Goma, which is currently controlled by the March 23 Movement rebel group.

Jean-Jacques Muyembe, director of the DRC’s National Institute for Biomedical Research, told media outlets Sunday that testing had confirmed the case in Goma.

The infected patient is the wife of a man who died from Ebola in Bunia, the capital of Ituri Province and the center of the current outbreak. According to Muyembe, the woman traveled to Goma after her husband’s death while already infected with the virus.

Muyembe is regarded as one of the country’s leading Ebola specialists and participated in investigations during the first recorded Ebola outbreak in 1976.

The M23 rebel group said in a statement that the patient had been isolated and that contact-tracing efforts were underway to identify anyone who may have been exposed to the virus.

The Goma case followed confirmation Saturday evening of another Ebola infection in Beni, also located in North Kivu province. Prisca Luanda Kamala, the provincial minister of social affairs, said the patient had likewise traveled from Bunia.

On Friday, the DRC government officially declared the new Ebola outbreak, the country’s 17th since 1976, in the eastern province.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said Saturday that 336 cases and 87 deaths have already been reported. The agency warned that the outbreak is being driven by the Bundibugyo strain, for which there is currently no strain-specific vaccine, increasing the risk of regional spread.

Regional concerns intensified after Uganda reported an imported Bundibugyo Ebola case linked to travel from the DRC.

The WHO said international spread has already been confirmed, with two cases detected in Kampala, Uganda, on May 15 and 16 after travel from the DRC. Both patients were admitted to intensive care units in Kampala.

The WHO added that neighboring countries sharing borders with the DRC face a high risk of further transmission because of population movement, trade links and continued epidemiological uncertainty.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev