Countries bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo have stepped up screening at border crossings, trained frontl-ine health workers and activated emergency plans to reduce the risk of imported cases as the DRC battles a growing Ebola outbreak.
On Monday the DRC's Health Ministry reported that at least 930 people have died due to the illness. The DRC has recorded 2,344 cases of Bundibugyo, the virus behind the current outbreak, which the government declared on May 15. The World Health Organization (WHO) recently warned that the number of cases could be up to four times higher than what is known.
In Zambia, authorities have stepped up screening at points of entry despite recording no confirmed Ebola cases. Dr. Naeem Dalal, assistant director for preparedness and response at the Zambia National Public Health Institute (ZNPHI), told DW that prevention measures had been reinforced nationwide.The Ebola survivors of DR Congo To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
"Infection prevention and control is currently being activated, where a lot of disinfection will be taking place, and face masks and washing of hands with soap and water will become mandatory," Dalal said.
