KAMPALA, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Uganda has started screening departing travelers for Sudan Ebola virus disease (SVD) at the East African country's border points to prevent the exportation of the virus.

Travelers departing through Uganda's 53 designated border points and Entebbe International Airport, the country's main international gateway, are being screened for the deadly viral hemorrhagic fever, Henry Kyobe Bosa, incident commander at the Ministry of Health, told Xinhua by telephone.

Bosa said a thermal scanner has been deployed at the Entebbe airport for departing travelers for high-temperature detection, and sanitization measures have also been instituted.

"We have heightened active surveillance. We have instituted exit screening starting fully at Entebbe airport, and we are rolling the same across the entire 53 designated border points," said Bosa. "If the temperature is detected high, then that individual will be refused to exit and linked to the isolation. This is to ensure that we localize the Ebola outbreak within the country without spreading it out."

Uganda last week declared an Ebola outbreak after a 32-year-old nurse succumbed to the disease. The country's Ministry of Health said two relatives of the index case have tested positive for the virus and 234 people who had contact with the deceased have been identified and isolated.

With the World Health Organization and other partners, Uganda is currently carrying out a clinical efficacy trial for a vaccine for the Sudan species of the Ebola virus. Enditem

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