The Embassy of the Slovak Republic in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, alerts Slovaks to the worsening epidemiological situation in Uganda and the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in connection with the confirmed occurrence of Ebola. The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic reported on this on Wednesday on its website.
“Confirmed cases of the disease were recorded in Ituri province in the DRC and in the Ugandan capital Kampala,” the ministry said. He recommends carefully considering the necessity of traveling to Uganda, especially to Kampala and the areas near the border with the Congo. At the same time, avoid roads to the affected areas of the eastern part of the DRC.
It advises travelers to follow the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO) and local health authorities. He also appeals for compliance with increased hygiene measures.
People should avoid contact with sick persons, their body fluids, visiting medical facilities, places with a high concentration of people, funerals and also contact with wild animals. The Ministry does not recommend consuming meat from wild animals.
The WHO said on Wednesday that the risk of spreading the current Ebola epidemic in the DRC and Uganda is high at the national and regional levels, but low at the global level. It declared the Ebola epidemic in DRC and Uganda on May 17, 2026 as a public health emergency of international concern.
The current Ebola epidemic is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, against which there are still no approved vaccines or specific treatments. The Zaire variant was mainly spread in Africa in the past. According to the American National Institutes of Health, Bundibugyo has a lower death rate than it – at 37 percent, while up to 90 percent of those infected succumb to the Zaire variant.
Ebola is a highly contagious viral disease with a high mortality rate that regularly occurs in the DRC, especially in remote regions with limited access to health care. It is transmitted by contact with the blood, body fluids or organs of infected animals, especially bats, which are considered natural hosts.
