Newly inaugurated Ebola Testing Center in Gumbo Sherikat. (Photo: WHO South Sudan.)

Health authorities in Central Equatoria State and partners have inaugurated an Ebola Screening and Testing Center at Gumba Sherikat East of the capital Juba.

The facility was launched to mitigate and prevent a possible importation of the contagious virus – spreading in neighboring Uganda.

Nejua Marsala, the Minister of Health in Central Equatoria State says the center is part of the preparedness to protect the country against the deadly Sudan strain of Ebola.

Speaking to the state broadcaster SSBC on Wedneday, Minister Marsala says the prevention measures – besides screening, will include risk communication, infection prevention, and control.

“It’s important to launch this screening center for the Ebola virus as a part of the government’s responsibility to prevent and protect the people of the county,” she said.

.@WHOSouthSudan through the generous donation from @WHO Contingency Fund for Emergencies continue to step up Ebola preparedness & operational readiness in all the high-risks locations in the country to reduce potential risk of importation of Ebola Virus Disease. pic.twitter.com/ba09LDoN81

— WHO South Sudan (@WHOSouthSudan) November 23, 2022

The testing and screening center is funded by the World Health Organization.

In September 2022, the national Ministry of Health deployed a technical team of 15 health workers to areas bordering Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo to monitor and screen travelers amid the new Ebola outbreak in Uganda.

The health personnel include public health officers, lab technicians, case management surveillance officers, and infection and prevention control officers.

Ebola outbreak in Uganda

Leaders in Mubende – the epicenter of the Uganda outbreak, are optimistic that the district will soon be declared Ebola-free after going without registering any case in the 21-day incubation period, according to local media reports.

Daily Monitor cites Mubende Ebola hospital records as indicating that the district has only one Ebola patient while the last confirmed case was registered on October 31.

The decline in cases is attributed to series of lock-downs imposed by President Yoweri Museveni.

The World Health Organization is set to start trial of vaccines for the Sudan strain of the Ebola Virus Disease soon.