Uganda has confirmed three new cases of Ebola, bringing the total number of infections in the current outbreak in the country to five.
The announcement was made Saturday by the Ministry of Health, as authorities intensify contact tracing to contain the spread.
The World Health Organization has declared an international health emergency for the rare Bundibugyo strain, warning of a "very high" risk of a national epidemic in the DRC, which to date has nearly 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths.
Late detection, the lack of a vaccine or specific treatments for the virus, widespread armed violence and high population mobility make Congo particularly vulnerable, according to the WHO.
New cases identified in Uganda include a driver who transported the country’s first confirmed patient and a healthcare worker exposed while caring for that patient.
Both are under treatment and have been identified among known contacts, the ministry said in a statement.
The third case is that of a woman from Congo who entered Uganda with mild abdominal symptoms and then travelled from Arua, near the border, to Entebbe before being treated at a private hospital in the capital, Kampala.
