India Issues Travel Advisory for DRC, Uganda, South Sudan Amid Ebola Outbreak

New Delhi: The government on Sunday issued a travel advisory urging people to avoid non-essential travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and South Sudan, even as it said the country has not reported a case of Ebola caused by Bundibugyo strain.

The advisory follows the World Health Organization's declaration of the Ebola outbreak as a 'public health emergency of international concern', health ministry said.

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"In view of the evolving situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other affected countries, and in line with WHO's recommendations, government of India advises all Indian citizens to avoid non-essential travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and South Sudan until further notice," it said in an advisory.

The WHO has invoked the International Health Regulations (2005) and formally declared the outbreak a PHEIC on May 17, driven by the rapid spread of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus disease across the DRC and Uganda.

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The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has separately designated the outbreak a public health emergency of continental security. The Bundibugyo strain, which causes a severe viral haemorrhagic fever with a high mortality rate, has so far caused no confirmed cases in India. However, health authorities remain on alert. Critically, no approved vaccines or specific treatments currently exist for Ebola disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus, making containment and surveillance the primary lines of defence.

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The WHO's IHR Emergency Committee, meeting on May 22, issued temporary recommendations urging nations to bolster disease surveillance at all points of entry, directing authorities to detect, assess, and manage travellers arriving from areas with documented Bundibugyo transmission, while discouraging travel to those regions.

South Sudan and other nations sharing borders with the DRC and Uganda have been assessed as being at high risk of transmission, prompting India to include Juba in its travel caution.