Uganda is stepping up efforts to detect possible cases of Ebola, from the Democratic Republic of Congo ahead of Sunday’s elections.

The authorities fear that any post-election violence in the DRC will lead to an influx of refugees into Uganda. The DRC is fighting to control an Ebola outbreak in the east of the country, near its border with Uganda.

Community surveillance teams in Uganda have intensified their surveillance of Ebola cases. More medical screening equipment, such as thermometers, are being sent to border areas.

The Ebola epidemic, whose epicenter is the city of Beni in eastern DRC, has been harder to contain because of AFD attacks in the region. Ugandan health officials and World Health Organization officials fear that the post-election violence in the DRC will worsen the situation and lead to Congolese attempts to cross the border with Uganda.

In recent months, Uganda has put in place a health response plan, which includes the vaccination of more than 2,000 health workers, the screening of 2 million people who have crossed the DRC border, and the screening of suspected cases.