DR Congo Ebola outbreak spreads to rebel-held city, Rwanda closing down border

Rwanda closed key border crossings with the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Sunday after the latest Ebola outbreak spread to Goma, a rebel-held city of more than one million people near the Rwandan border.

The move came as the World Health Organization on Friday declared outbreaks in the DRC and Uganda an international public health emergency.

Prosper Mulindwa, mayor of Rwanda's Rubavu District in Western Province, told local media the closure would remain in effect indefinitely as authorities sought to contain the spread of the virus.

"The borders connecting Goma and Gisenyi have been temporarily closed in response to the Ebola outbreak. We will continue engaging with our residents to explain why this decision was made," Mulindwa said.

A diplomatic source said only Congolese and Rwandan nationals returning home are currently being allowed to cross, while all other movement has been suspended pending further guidance.

The WHO said Sunday that countries should not close borders or impose restrictions on travel and trade despite the outbreak.

The developments came after laboratory tests confirmed an Ebola case in Goma, which is currently controlled by the M23 rebel group.

Jean-Jacques Muyembe, director of the DRC's National Institute for Biomedical Research, told media the confirmed patient was the wife of a man who died of Ebola in Bunia, the capital of Ituri Province and the center of the current outbreak.

According to Muyembe, the woman traveled to Goma after her husband's death while already infected.

The M23 rebel group said in a statement the patient had been isolated and contact tracing was underway to identify anyone who may have been exposed.

The confirmed case in Goma followed another Ebola case reported Saturday evening in Beni, also in North Kivu province. Prisca Luanda Kamala, the provincial minister of social affairs, said the patient had traveled from Bunia.

The DRC government on Friday declared the country's 17th Ebola outbreak since 1976 in the east of the country.

The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Saturday that 336 cases and 87 deaths had been recorded so far, warning that the outbreak involves the Bundibugyo strain, for which no strain-specific vaccine currently exists.

Regional concern has intensified after Uganda reported an imported Bundibugyo case linked to the outbreak in the DRC.

The WHO said two confirmed cases were reported in Kampala on May 15 and 16 after travel from the DRC, with both patients admitted to intensive care units.

The UN agency warned that countries bordering the DRC remain at high risk of further spread because of population movement, trade and travel links, and ongoing epidemiological uncertainty.