Korea to strengthen quarantine on entries from 7 African nations to prevent Ebola virus

This photo shows a quarantine desk at Incheon International Airport in Incheon, Sept. 3, 2024. Newsis

Korea will bolster quarantine measures on people entering from seven African nations as part of efforts to prevent the Ebola virus from spreading here, the health authorities said Wednesday.

Inbound travelers from Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania and Ethiopia will be required to undergo quarantine measures, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

Under the country's quarantine rules, inbound travelers from the seven countries will be required to report abnormal bodily symptoms, such as fever and rash, to quarantine officers when entering Korea.

The move comes after Uganda recently reported its first death from Ebola in two years.

Ebola virus causes severe inflammation and hemorrhagic fever in humans, but there is no widely used vaccine.

"Ebola virus disease is not spreading rapidly in other countries as it gets transmitted through direct contact with the body fluids or tissues of an infected person, but we are working to minimize the possibility of the disease spreading here," KDCA Commissioner Jee Young-mee said. (Yonhap)