JOHANNESBURG – The United Kingdom has joined the United States in issuing travel warnings to their respective citizens in regards to travelling to Tanzania due to a “probable Ebola-related death”.
“A person has died in Tanzania in September 2019. It appears probable that this is an Ebola-related death. The WHO continues to investigate and has issued a statement,” UK Foreign Office said in a statement on Tuesday.
“The British High Commission in Dar es Salaam is in contact with Tanzanian authorities and international health organisations, and this travel advice will be updated as new information becomes available,” it added.
Last Friday the US State Department issued a similar warning to its citizens.
The warnings follow accusations that the Tanzanian authorities have not been forthcoming in regards to the presence of Ebola in their country.
Tests carried out on a female doctor suspected of contracting Ebola were negative, according to the government.
“The tests were to find out whether the patients were infected by Ebola or not, and we confirmed them negative,” Dr Chaula Zaina, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health told The East African last week.
She, however, declined to reveal the results of the tests.
Last month, the government also summoned the WHO representative in the country over the agency’s statement that it had refused to share information on suspected Ebola cases.