Three new Ebola cases declared in Uganda - as DR Congo's World Cup team told to isolate

Three new cases of Ebola have been declared in Uganda, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the current outbreak there to five.

It comes as the Democratic Republic of Congo's football team and staff have been told to isolate before travelling to the US for the World Cup.

Two Ugandans - a ​male driver who ⁠transported a patient who was the country's ⁠first confirmed Ebola case and a female health worker ‌who treated him - are among the new cases, the Ugandan health ​ministry said ​in a statement on Saturday.

Both have since tested positive and are receiving treatment after being identified among known contacts, the ministry said.

They were exposed to a 59-year-old Congolese man, who was admitted to a hospital in Kampala on 11 May and died three days later.

The third case was a ⁠Congolese woman who entered the country from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), "presenting with mild abdominal symptoms".

She travelled from Arua, close to the ​border, to Entebbe before seeking care at a ​private hospital in the capital Kampala, where she improved and returned to the central African country four days later.

The patient later tested positive for Ebola after a follow-up prompted by a tip-off from a pilot ⁠involved in transporting her.

All identified contacts ​linked to the confirmed cases are being closely monitored, ​the ministry said, urging the public to remain vigilant and report suspected symptoms.

Meanwhile the entire Congolese delegation to the football World Cup must isolate and maintain a bubble for 21 days or risk being denied entry to the US.

The team is currently training in Belgium.

Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House Task Force for ‌the World Cup told ESPN: "We've made it very clear to the Congo government as well, that they need to ‌maintain that bubble or they risk not being able to travel to the United States. We cannot be any clearer."

Their first match is against Portugal on 17 June in Houston followed by one against Colombia in Guadalajara in Mexico on 23 June.

All of the team's players are based outside DR Congo.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the outbreak of the rare ​Bundibugyo strain a public health emergency ‌of international concern, and said the risk of a national epidemic in the ​DRC is "very high".

DRC, ​the centre of the outbreak, has nearly 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths from the illness.

The country is particularly vulnerable because of late detection, the absence ⁠of a vaccine or virus-specific therapeutics, widespread armed violence and high mobility among the population, the organisation said.

The WHO said Ugandan authorities have stepped up ​contact tracing to contain the spread.

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In a post on X on Saturday morning, the WHO said screening has been boosted at major points of entry to Uganda, as well as health checks at Entebbe airport.

It said Ugandan health authorities were carrying out "enhanced disease surveillance, contact tracing and community engagement" in what it referred to as "high-risk districts".

(c) Sky News 2026: Three new Ebola cases declared in Uganda - as DR Congo's World Cup team told to isolate