Uganda closes its border with Congo, where suspected cases of a rare
Ebola type are surging
[May 28, 2026]
By RODNEY MUHUMUZA
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Uganda on Wednesday ordered the closure of its
border with Congo, where suspected cases of a rare type of Ebola are
surging, and as cases have been confirmed at home after Ugandan health
workers were exposed to the disease from Congolese patients.
The measure, which goes against the guidance by the World Health
Organization, underscores growing fears of contagion in East Africa from
Bundibugyo, a rare type of the Ebola virus that is behind this outbreak
and that has no approved medicines or vaccines.
Like Congo, Uganda has faced Ebola outbreaks in the past. A local
Ugandan task force made the decision on the border closure. The Ugandan
health workers were exposed to the virus by Congolese patients who had
crossed the border before the outbreak was declared in eastern Congo on
May 15.
The border closure was temporary, with “immediate effect,” Dr. Diana
Atwine of the Ugandan Ministry of Health, told journalists. Border
crossings will be authorized only in emergency cases, including for the
outbreak response, humanitarian, cargo or security reasons, she added.
Anyone entering from Congo under emergency circumstances will be taken
into mandatory isolation for 21 days.
Congo says over 100 cases have been confirmed
Tracing and isolating Ebola contacts is seen as key to stopping the
spread of the disease, which usually manifests as hemorrhagic fever. The
virus is spread through close contact with sick or deceased patients’
bodily fluids. Experts say healthcare workers and family members caring
for patients face the highest risk.
The number of suspected cases in eastern Congo is nearing 1,000, with at
least 220 suspected deaths. Congo’s health ministry on Tuesday said 101
cases have been confirmed, and they are looking into over 3,000 possible
contacts.
On Wednesday, Congolese authorities said that the first person who
recovered from the Bundibugyo virus has been released home from a
treatment center in Rwampara, one of the towns in eastern Congo at the
heart of the outbreak.
WHO has discouraged border closures with Congo while acknowledging that
neighboring countries are at high risk of contagion. The U.N. health
agency has declared this outbreak a public health emergency of
international concern.
Closures "push the movement of people and goods to informal border
crossings that are not monitored, thus increasing the chances of the
spread of disease," the agency said.
The Uganda-Congo border is several hundred miles long and crossed by
numerous footpaths beyond formal border posts. Many people come and go
in the course of a day to visit families or to trade.
Congolese health authorities are struggling to contain the outbreak,
which WHO says is outpacing them. The rare type of Ebola was confirmed
weeks late as tests were carried out for a more common type. Challenges
also include the threat from armed groups in eastern Congo, a large
number of displaced people and poor infrastructure.
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A Muslim woman walks towards the prayer grounds at Sayo Muhamed
School to perform Eid al-Adha prayers amid an Ebola outbreak in
Bunia, Congo, Wednesday, May 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
 WHO's Director-General Tedros
Adhanom Ghebreyesus called on Wednesday for a ceasefire in eastern
Congo to allow safe access for responders and others, saying on
social media that “attacks on health facilities make tracking cases
and their contacts nearly impossible.”
Responders in Congo have said they are underprepared and
under-protected for this outbreak, while conflict-traumatized
residents, long wary of outsiders, have attacked a number of clinics
and hurled stones and abuse at volunteers trying to make people
aware of the virus and its risks.
Infected people or those have been in contact should not undertake
international travel unless it’s a medical evacuation, WHO has said.
On Wednesday, the Trump administration said it is planning to send
Americans who are exposed to Ebola to a new facility in Kenya
instead of flying them to the United States.
Uganda is concerned about exposed health workers
Uganda has reported seven cases of Ebola, including the first case
of a 59-year-old man who died in Kampala, the country's capital, on
May 14. While the Ebola case load is not spiking, the number of
locals exposed to infection via health workers has been rising.
“They have families, and so the number has been increasing,” Atwine,
the Ugandan health official, said of the health workers.
She also said she was dismayed to see some Ugandans forming crowds
to celebrate Arsenal as British Premier League champions. The team
has a large following in Uganda. Atwine urged people to be vigilant,
avoid shaking hands and use sanitizer.
Congo has had 17 Ebola outbreaks. Health experts say aid cuts last
year by the U.S. and other rich nations are devastating for eastern
Congo, in part because of the region’s unique problems.
Aid groups fighting this outbreak say they don’t have the equipment
they need, including face shields and suits to protect health
workers from infection, testing kits and body bags needed to safely
bury victims.
___
Associated Press writer Jean-Yves Kamale in Kinshasa, Congo,
contributed to this report.
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