Ebola testing centre set up at Wau airport

October 22, 2014 (WAU) – An Ebola testing centre has been set up in South Sudan’s Western Bahr el Ghazal state in collaboration with the state health ministry and the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

Health minister Dr Isaac Cleto Hassan told reporters on Tuesday that the centre would be located at Wau airport.

Hassan said the decision had been taken as Western Bahr el Ghazal, Western Equatoria, Eastern Equatoria and Central Equatoria experience frequent cross-border movements of people.

“The establishment of [the] Wau airport testing department in collaboration with the UN is to test those who are landing direct from Entebbe International Airport in Kampala (Uganda) on the UN daily flights to Wau,” Hassan said.

He said 12 officers would be sent to Juba for training on the proper protocols for dealing with a potential Ebola case.

Hassan has also warned the public against hunting wild animals, as a precautionary measure against the spread of the disease.

To date there have been no reported cases of Ebola in South Sudan.

The disease has engulfed West Africa, killing some 4,877 people, mostly from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea according to the most recent figures from the World Health Organisation

There are fears the outbreak could become a major international health crisis, with countries worldwide on high alert.

Hassan said his ministry had also set up precautionary centres at border crossings, including Western Equatoria to the south and the Central Africa Republic to the west.

Last month, panic broke out at Wau’s main teaching hospital after a patient presented who was bleeding from the nose.

(ST)