GOVERNMENT has banned travellers from countries where the deadly Ebola disease has broken out, Minister of Health Joseph Kasonde announced yesterday.
To prevent any spread of the disease, the ministry has since put in place a national Ebola preparedness plan and budget to respond to the threat.
Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone are battling the Ebola virus, which has also spread to Nigeria.
In a statement released in Lusaka yesterday, Dr Kasonde said the measure is meant to prevent the deadly virus from reaching Zambia.
He said Government is putting in place measures that will protect Zambia from any threats of the disease, which has killed over 900 people in West Africa.
“Although there is no immediate threat of spread to Zambia of Ebola, considering the extent of the outbreak, and recognising the ease with which people can travel between two points in the world, the Ministry of Health has heightened its alert status,” Dr Kasonde said.
Dr Kasonde said Zambia has laboratory capacity at the University of Zambia School of Veterinary Medicine to test and confirm an Ebola outbreak.
“The ministry has stationed ambulances at all major points of entry – namely all the four main international airports [Kenneth Kaunda, Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula, Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe and Mfuwe] and Ground Crossings [Kasumba Lesa, Nakonde, Mpulungu, Chirundu, Katima Mulilo, Victoria Falls, Kazungula and Mokambo]. Other crossings will be managed as part of the routine surveillance,” Dr Kasonde said.
“We have since called for strict entry controls at all airports and all border posts,” Dr Kasonde said.
The World Health Organisation has since declared an international public health emergency.
There is no known cure for the disease, which is said to kill 90 percent of its victims.