KAMPALA, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Uganda has dispatched a surveillance team to its southern border districts following a Marburg outbreak in neighboring Tanzania, a senior official said here Wednesday.
Henry Kyobe, the incident commander for COVID-19 at the Ministry of Health, told Xinhua by telephone that they were doing everything possible to detect any cases that may cross into the country.
"We are sharpening our readiness both at the national level and also at the border point to ensure that we are able to detect any cases that come across," Kyobe said.
"The good news is that we are fresh from the Ebola response; we have the institutional capacity, the human resources, and the expertise for early detection and response," he added.
The senior officer who was at the forefront of fighting COVID-19 and Ebola in Uganda said teams had already been sent to several districts to make a needs assessment.
"For the time being, we are polishing our readiness, and we have already deployed the rapid response teams to several districts that are bordering Tanzania to make a rapid assessment of needs and potentially any gaps if any that we need to fill to protect our side," Kyobe said.
Tanzania on Tuesday confirmed a Marburg outbreak in the Kagera region located in the northwestern part of the country that neighbors Uganda.
The region is home to Mutukula, a key border post used by Uganda and Tanzania. ■