Western recalls students, staff in Uganda following Ebola outbreak | News

Western has recalled students and staff from a learning trip in Uganda because of an Ebola outbreak in the region.

29 Western University students, accompanied by five staff members travelled to Uganda on May 9 to complete the summer term of their year-long Master of Health Sciences in Global Health Systems degree. But their plans were cut short because of rising Ebola cases in Uganda and the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The students were finishing up a three-week field placement, and were soon expecting to start their eight-week long internships in the country, before being called back.

Rose Sharifi, one of the  students that travelled to Uganda and arrived back in Canada Thursday night, told the Gazette on Friday that Western made the decision on May 23 to cancel the summer term in Uganda, four days before the completion of the field placement.

“Over the span of like two, three days, we were split into four groups, and everybody came back. I think our last group arrives back in Toronto on [Friday],” she said.

In a Tuesday statement to the Gazette, Western confirmed all students and staff recalled would reach Canada in the next three days.

On May 15, Congo’s health ministry declared the spread of a rare type of Ebola — caused by Bundibugyo virus which does not have any medicines or vaccines — in Ituri province in northeastern Congo an outbreak.

The World Health Organisation declared a public health emergency of international concern in Congo and Uganda on May 17. At the time, there were eight confirmed cases of Ebola in Congo and two in Uganda — both travellers from across the border.

Sharifi said when the group learned about the first two cases of Ebola in Uganda during the second week of their trip, adjustments were made to the itinerary but the organizers decided it was safe to stay since the cases had come from Congo.

A planned visit to a hospital near the Congo border was shelved because of concerns about Ebola virus transmission. As cases rose, a trip to Hoima, a city also close to the border, was cancelled and students who had internships there were told they would be redistributed into other internships.

“It was a lot of pivoting, because every day the news would change or updates would be there,” she said.

But as number of Ebola cases increased, Sharifi said the organizers pulled the plug on the trip, leading to mixed feelings within the group.

“Some people were devastated because they relied on their internships to find jobs and opportunities back here, but other people were relieved because they didn’t want to take the risk of staying in Uganda when there was an outbreak.”

Uganda shut down its border with Congo on Wednesday fearing cross-border transmission of Ebola, as confirmed cases in the neighbouring country rose to 101, according to the the Congolese health ministry. At least 220 people were suspected to have died from Ebola in Congo, as the ministry said they were looking at over 3000 contacts.

As of Friday, WHO reported nine confirmed cases in Uganda and one death from the disease. While Ebola cases in Uganda are not spiking, the number of locals exposed to infection via health workers has been rising, leading to the decision to seal the border.

Sharifi said students have been told Western would work towards creating a list of alternate internships they can partake in, either in-person or virtually, to complete their degree requirements.

“As a program we have substantial experience with distance learning and pivoting quickly, gained during the COVID epidemic,” said Jessica Prodger, co-director of the master’s program.