This was disclosed by a spokesperson of the Ugandan Ministry of Health, Rukia Nakamatte, while speaking with the Xinhua by telephone on Monday, 18 August, 2014.
According to Nakamatte, samples had been taken from the female passenger who travelled from Nigeria to Uganda for testing at Uganda Virus Research Institute, Entebbe, 40 kilometres south of the capital Kampala.
“The passenger was stopped as she arrived at the airport. She was showing signs of fever like Ebola. We are waiting for the test results from the research institute for confirmation,” said Nakamatte.
“We have put all the necessary precautions to handle all the suspected cases and any confirmations,” she added.
It was gathered that it was the second passenger to be put in isolation unit and tested for Ebola in the East Africa country following the current outbreak sweeping in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Liberia.
Latest report by the World Health Organisation, WHO, revealed that the deadly Ebola virus has killed at least 1,225 people and infected hundreds since it’s outbreak in the four West African countries.
It would be recalled that Uganda’s neigbouring country, Kenya on Saturday banned travellers from the Ebola-hit West African countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
According to reports, Uganda’s Ministry of Health officials are still considering measures to be taken to prevent the spread of the disease to the country by travellers from the infected West African countries.
Uganda has suffered Ebola outbreaks in the past, similar viral hemorrhagic fevers like Mar bug, Crimean Congo and Yellow Fever.
But Ebola is a highly infectious disease spread through body contact with an infected person.
It presents with high fever, bleeding, diarrhea and red eyes among other symptoms. Ugandan government has intensified screening of travellers coming into the country through Entebbe Airport and other border posts to make sure they are safe from Ebola.
In Nigeria alone, the dreaded disease is reported to have killed no fewer than four people while more than 10 persons are said to have contracted the virus since a Liberian businessman, Patrick Sawyer imported the disease to the country.
Mr Sawyer later died from the disease in a Lagos hospital.
The Nigerian government had few days ago declared a state of emergency over the outbreak of the Ebola virus, saying more than hundred of people are still being monitired to ascertain if they would show symptoms of the Ebola virus.
