Tanzania Widens Ebola Screening to All Arrivals as Kenya’s Cases Hit Seven
Tanzania has implemented stricter health screening protocols for all incoming travelers following an Ebola outbreak in Kenya linked to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The new measures require health surveillance forms and temperature checks at all points of entry to prevent the spread of the virus.
Why it matters
Heightened surveillance is a critical public health response to contain the regional spread of a highly infectious and deadly disease.
Dar es Salaam — Tanzania has expanded traveller health checks after Kenya reported seven confirmed cases of Bundibugyo Ebola virus disease, including one death, in an outbreak linked to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Ministry of Health’s Travel Advisory No. 18 , issued October 17, requires every incoming traveller to complete an online Traveller Health Surveillance Form before departure. It covers air, land and sea arrivals and expands the earlier regime focused on people arriving from, or transiting through, the DRC and Uganda.
It requires temperature and other health screening at all points of entry. People with signs compatible with Ebola or another infectious disease are to be managed under national entry-and-exit screening procedures, while travellers assessed as high risk can be followed for 21 days through automated messages or other contact.
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