Ebola detection and prevention training in an army barracks outside South Sudan's town of Yei, on Feb. 26 2019. JUBA, South Sudan -- With the deadly Ebola outbreak in Congo now an international emergency , neighbouring South Sudan and its war-weakened health system is a major concern, especially after one case was confirmed near its border. Health experts say there is an urgent need to increase prevention efforts.
Last month a 41-year-old woman was discovered with Ebola in northeastern Congo, just 70 kilometres from South Sudan. She had travelled 500 kilometres from Beni, the epicenter of the outbreak, despite having been exposed to the virus and warned not to travel. That recently happened in neighbouring Uganda, a more stable country with a more developed health system and experience with past Ebola outbreaks, as millions of people flow across borders in the densely populated region. Three people died in Uganda before other family members were taken back to Congo for treatment and Ugandan officials quickly declared the country was again free of the disease.
The country is about 60% ready to deal with a potential Ebola outbreak, Richard Lako with South Sudan's national Ebola task force has told The Associated Press. At one animated training session earlier this year in an army barracks outside Yei, a major city in western South Sudan near the Congo border, two UN staffers playfully bumped elbows, showing how to greet others without shaking hands. Ebola is spread via close contact with bodily fluids of those infected.