The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) a Public Health Emergency of International Concern – its second-highest alert level – two days after the Africa CDC confirmed the outbreak on 15 May.
The designation signals member states to activate national response systems, as WHO has done for Ebola outbreaks in 2014 and 2019.
WHO, however, says this does not constitute a pandemic emergency.
What this means for travel
The US has declared a temporary health order since 18 May, which prohibits travellers who have visited the DRC, Uganda and South Sudan within the last 21 days from entering. The US State Department has also updated its travel advisories for Uganda to level four (do not travel) and Rwanda and level three (reconsider travel).
In Asia, airports including Hong Kong International, Delhi, Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi and Singapore Changi have stepped up health screenings. Hong Kong has issued a red outbound travel alert, urging residents to avoid non-essential travel to the DRC.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, in an updated advisory on 21 May, assessed the risk of infection for people in the EU and EEA as "very low."
Operators holding steady on the ground
Africa safari operators so far report no disruptions, according to Travel Weekly in a 19 May article.
"Uganda is world-renowned and experienced in Ebola containment, tracing and elimination, and it has significant resource-backing from the WHO," said Bjorn Behlert, Africa team lead at Scott Dunn, noting that cases are typically detected in rural areas with an "extremely small" risk to tourists.
"Ebola is not Covid," Behlert said. "You can only be infected through very close physical contact with a very, visibly sick person."
Intrepid Travel, which operates Uganda trips and has a small team based there, said its team members are in contact with authorities and partners monitoring the situation. No itineraries have been impacted, said Leigh Barnes, president of the Americas for Intrepid.
What is Ebola?
Ebola is not a new disease. This latest wave would be Congo DRC’s 17th outbreak in the country. However, as this strain is rare – named the Bundibugyo – fewer tools are available to stop the virus, which can cause deaths in a third of infected people.
Humans can get infected through contact with body fluids or tissues from infected animals, including fruit bats, primates, forest antelope or porcupines. Human-to-human transmission can occur through direct contact with blood or body fluids from an infected person.
Infected individuals become infectious once they begin to develop symptoms: sudden onset of fever, weakness, malaise, muscle pain, joint pain, headache and sore throat.
While there are no direct flights from the DRC or Uganda to Singapore and travel volumes remain low, Singapore’s Communicable Diseases Agency has advised travellers to maintain vigilance and adopt the health precautions.