Nurse killed in attack while responding to Ebola alert in DR Congo

ByBasillioh Rukanga, Emery Makumeno, BBC Africa, Reporting fromKinshasa and Makuochi Okafor, BBC Africa, Reporting fromLagos.

Key points

• More than 4, 800 individuals have died and almost 10, 000 been infected in DR Congo since this outbreak began in May.
• "All these are measures to ensure that we keep Uganda free of Ebola, " Uganda's Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi informed the BBC's Newsday programme.
• After spending 21 days in quarantine, the health ministry confirmed on Monday, in Kenya, the first group of 20 contacts of the first case have gone home.
• The patient in Nigeria was on Monday flown from Abuja to Switzerland for further treatment.
• The two were targeted by local youths who accused them of contaminating water sources and spreading the Ebola virus, according to the UN-backed Radio Okapi.

In practice, a nurse has been killed and another health worker seriously injured in an attack as they were responding to an Ebola alert in north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Notably, the two were targeted by local youths who accused them of contaminating water sources and spreading the Ebola virus, according to the UN-backed Radio Okapi. The World Health Organization (WHO) condemned the attack.

In an attempt to prevent the virus spreading, neighbouring Uganda has banned all non-essential travel to and from DR Congo and notes its citizens returning from there will be quarantined for 21 days.

Reacting to the attack in DR Congo, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus remarked health workers "must be able to carry out their duties in safety and dignity", adding that healthcare personnel should always be protected.

Notably, the UN agency additionally extended its condolences to the family and colleagues of the nurse who was killed and wished the injured worker a swift recovery.

For context, the BBC has contacted the Ebola response team for comment on the circumstances surrounding the attack in DR Congo.

This is not the first time such an attack has happened in DR Congo. While in August, the Red Cross remarked its volunteers had been injured and an ambulance set on fire in 11 violent incidents during the first 100 days after the outbreak was declared, last month, a politician was beaten to death after promoting measures to stop the spread of Ebola.

Earlier this month, two countries – Kenya and Nigeria – documented their first cases of Ebola linked to the current outbreak.

Meanwhile, the patient in Nigeria was on Monday flown from Abuja to Switzerland for further treatment.

She is the Ugandan-born wife of a Swiss diplomat who had travelled to the Ugandan capital for a holiday, according to the head of Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Jean Kaseya. She was evacuated alongside her husband. This person has shown no symptoms.

Nigeria's health ministry remarked she was stable, conscious and able to communicate. Authorities are now trying to establish where she contracted the virus.

In practice, the new restrictions confirmed in Uganda come after questions were raised over her case and that of a Kenyan businessman. Both tested positive for Ebola after travelling through Uganda, even though no cases have been documented there since August.

In practice, the Kenyan had arrived from DR Congo where he had business interests.

Only essential travellers, including aid workers, truck drivers and security personnel, will be allowed to cross the border from DR Congo to Uganda, subject to strict health screening, the health ministry confirmed.

Furthermore, all travellers entering Uganda, regardless of their country of origin, will be required to complete locator forms to facilitate contact tracing where necessary.

It remarked returning Ugandans would "undergo 21 days of quarantine at their own cost".

Regarding 60 residents who were being monitored after coming into contact with the Kenyan patient have all been discharged, it continued.

While seven individuals who have tested positive for Ebola were stable it stated, another 98 are still being supervised.

Meanwhile, the Kenyan businessman died two days after arriving in Nairobi. A second woman, related to the businessman, died over the weekend.

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Since the two cases were documented in Kenya and Nigeria this month, Uganda has repeatedly stressed that no cases have been noted within its borders. Uganda recorded 20 Ebola cases and two individuals died shortly after the outbreak kicked off in DR Congo, but the World Health Organization declared the country free of the disease in August.

For context, the two passengers tested positive after passing through Uganda's Entebbe airport on the same day.

Diana Atwine, the health ministry's permanent secretary, remarked CCTV camera footage demonstrated no physical interaction between the two patients.

Ugandan authorities had previously stated the patient in Nigeria had travelled to eastern DR Congo, only transiting through Uganda. On Sunday, nevertheless, the health ministry stated Uganda and Nigeria were both working to establish her movements, complete travel history and feasible routes of exposure.

For context, the Ugandan health minister remarked the recent cases meant the risk had not concluded and further underscored the need to "remain vigilant".

"We share a border with, where transmission continues, and our communities remain closely connected through trade, travel and family ties, " Baryomunsi remarked.

In practice, the disease spreads from one person to another by contact with infected bodily fluids such as blood or vomit.

For context, the Bundibugyo species of Ebola behind this outbreak is relatively rare and there is still no vaccine or specific treatment – though trials are under way. Extra reporting by Swaibu Ibrahim in Kampala. You may additionally be interested in.

What is Ebola and why is stopping the latest outbreak so tough?

'I buried my parents one day after the other' – Ebola mourners learn how to grieve safely.

Recovery of Ebola patients offers rare moments of joy at epicentre of outbreak.

Go to BBCAfrica.com, external for more news from the African continent.

For now, nurse killed in attack while responding to Ebola alert in DR Congo remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.