Congo Ebola victim may have entered Rwanda and Uganda, says WHO - based on unverified info

[tetano]

GENEVA (Reuters) ? A fishmonger who died of Ebola this week probably carried the virus from Congo into both Rwanda and Uganda, the World Health Organization said, as health workers struggled to track down people she could have infected.
The woman is one of almost 1,700 victims of the highly contagious disease during an 11-month epidemic that the WHO, reflecting growing concerns that it might spread, on Wednesday declared an international health emergency.
So far, a campaign of vigilance and vaccination encompassing almost 75 million screenings has effectively kept the outbreak confined to northeast Democratic Republic of Congo.
Three victims died in Uganda last month without spreading Ebola further there, while Rwanda has never had a recorded case.
But Mpondwe, a Ugandan border market, has become a focal point for possible contagion beyond Congo.

https://www.physiciansweekly.com/congo-ebola-victim-may/

[sharon sanders]

My underlining....


From: WorldHealthOrganizationNews@who.int
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: Note re unverified information about Ebola virus disease
Date: Jul 18, 2019 12:59 PM

Dear journalists, Two situation reports concerning Ebola Virus Disease in Uganda prepared and published by the Ugandan Ministry of Health, and posted on July 16 and July 17 on the WHO African Regional Office website, have erroneously included unverified information. This information concerned the movements of a female fishmonger who contracted Ebola virus disease and is confirmed to have travelled between towns in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a town in Uganda, while symptomatic. The reports containing this information have been removed. Please direct all inquiries about this case to: Dr Margaret Harris WHO Communications officer Mob :+41 792906688 Email : harrism@who.int best regards, The WHO Media team

[Pathfinder]

Rwanda Says Ebola Victim Did Not Go Through Country

ByEdmund Kagire July 18, 2019 at 5:09 pm 0
...
The country?s Minister of Health Dr Diane Gashumba told KT Press that it is not true that the reported woman, a fishmonger who died of Ebola this week, could have carried the virus into Rwanda on her way from neighboring Uganda, saying that there is no record of that movement.

Reports on Thursday quoting the World Health Organization (WHO) claimed that the woman could have gone through Rwanda, particularly Gisenyi town, Rubavu district on a business errand where she could have got in contact with some people before heading back to Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where she died.

?It did not happen. We have talked to WHO and they said they did not provide that information to anybody. They told us they don?t know where the Journalist got the information from but WHO did not say that the person entered Rwanda,?

?They have denied knowledge of that. We have also crosschecked to see what the Ministry of Health in Uganda said. They didn?t mention that the victim came to Rwanda. We don?t know who provided this information to the journalist and the intent but it is not true,? Dr Gashumba said.
...

https://ktpress.rw/2019/07/rwanda-says-ebola-victim-did-not-go-through-country/