Rwanda closes border with Congo over Ebola outbreak

Aug. 1 (UPI) -- Rwanda has closed its border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo after health officials confirmed new Ebola cases, including a third in Goma.

Rwanda closed the border after officials confirmed a second case in Goma Wednesday.

"Our government has closed the border with Democratic Republic of Congo because of the outbreak of Ebola," Oliver Nduhungirehe, Rwanda's minister in charge of the Eastern African Community, told DPA news agency.

Congolese officials called the closure "regrettable" and said it runs counter to health officials' recommendations. Only Congolese citizens leaving Rwanda are allowed to cross the border.

"On the basis of a unilateral decision by the Rwandan authorities, Rwandan citizens cannot go to Goma and Congolese cannot leave Gisenyi but are prevented from going home," the DRC president's office said in a statement. "This decision harms a number of Congolese and expatriates who live in Gisenyi but work in Goma."

A third case in Goma has since been reported.

"There's a third confirmed case. It's the daughter of the patient who died [Wednesday]," Ebola response coordinator Aruna Abedi told DPA news agency. "The little girl is in the hospital, but the virus could be fatal as mortality rates are high in children."

The new case is the first time Ebola has been transmitted to another person in Goma, which shares a border with the Rwandan town of Gisenyi. Officials said others contracted the virus elsewhere.

Health officials are trying to track down everyone who came into contact with the patients, to make sure they don't have the virus. The World Health Organization, which declared a global emergency last month, said the risk of regional spread is "very high."

DRC health minister Oly Ilunga Kalenga resigned last week over disagreements about how Congolese officials are handling the outbreak. He said he was pressured to use a new vaccine developed by Johnson and Johnson.