Ghana has intensified its national Ebola preparedness and response plan following outbreaks of the disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda.

Dr Franklin Asiedu-Bekoe, Director of Public Health at the Ghana Health Service (GHS), said the country had strengthened surveillance, laboratory testing, case management, infection prevention and control systems to ensure the early detection and rapid containment of any imported case.

“We already had a preparedness plan from previous outbreaks and have updated it to reflect the current situation,” he told the Ghana News Agency.

He said new case definitions had been developed and distributed to health facilities across the country to support the identification, reporting and management of suspected Ebola cases.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) reports that as of June 3, 2026, the DRC had recorded 344 confirmed Ebola cases and 60 deaths across 24 health zones in its Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu provinces.

The organisation said the number of suspected cases had reduced to 116 from more than 1,000 reported the previous week as health authorities worked through a backlog of investigations, confirming or ruling out cases.

In Uganda, authorities have recorded 15 confirmed cases and one death. Among the confirmed cases is a Congolese resident who travelled through the United Arab Emirates before entering Uganda.

Dr Asiedu-Bekoe said Ghana currently has three laboratories with the capacity to confirm Ebola infections: the National Public Health and Reference Laboratory in Accra, the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, and the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research (KCCR).

“Any clinician who suspects a case can send samples to any of these laboratories for confirmation,” he said.

The Director for Public Health said enhanced surveillance measures had been activated at the country’s points of entry, including the Accra International Airport, where travellers arriving from high-risk countries would undergo additional health screening, including temperature checks and health assessments.

The GHS has also engaged key stakeholders operating at airports and border crossings to strengthen infection prevention measures, including sanitation, hand hygiene facilities and environmental cleaning.

On treatment readiness, Dr Asiedu-Bekoe said facilities such as the Ghana Infectious Disease Centre (GIDC), the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital and other designated treatment centres across the regions were prepared to manage suspected and confirmed Ebola cases if necessary.

He noted that any suspected case identified at a point of entry would be isolated immediately and safely transferred to a designated treatment facility for further assessment and care.

He said the GHS has also intensified public education and risk communication efforts, while the Ministry of Health has issued advisories to keep the public informed about developments and preventive measures.

Dr Aseidu-Bekoe said Ghana has not recorded any Ebola case and stressed the need for continued vigilance, citing increasing international travel and the risk of cross-border transmission.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director – General of WHO, speaking at a media briefing on Wednesday, expressed concern about blanket travel restrictions imposed by some countries in response to the outbreak, saying such measures were disrupting supply chains and hampering response efforts.

He said WHO recommended exit screening at airports, ports and border crossings to prevent the international spread of cases and contacts.

“We ask countries that have imposed blanket travel restrictions to lift them,” he said.

Dr Tedros added that WHO and its partners were working to accelerate clinical trials as the DRC battles the outbreak without approved vaccines or therapeutics specifically targeted at the Bundibugyo strain of the virus.

On May 17, 2026, the WHO Director-General declared the Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus in the DRC and Uganda a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) under the International Health Regulations.

The WHO says there are currently no approved vaccines or specific therapeutics for the Bundibugyo variant.

Bundibugyo virus disease is a severe and often fatal form of Ebola caused by the Bundibugyo virus, one of the species within the Orthoebolavirus group. It is a zoonotic disease, with fruit bats believed to be its natural reservoir.

Human infection occurs through close contact with infected wildlife, including bats and non-human primates, and subsequently spreads from person to person through direct contact with the blood, body fluids, organs or contaminated materials of infected individuals.