KINSHASA, Congo — Rwanda closed its border with Congo on Thursday in response to the deadly Ebola outbreak, while the Congolese Health Ministry said the 1-year-old daughter of a man who had died of the disease in the border city of Goma had Ebola.
The man was Goma’s second confirmed Ebola case, and he died on Wednesday after spending several days at home with his family while showing symptoms.
The girl’s case would be the first known transmission of Ebola in this outbreak in Goma, a city of more than two million on the Rwandan border that is a major transit hub and thousands of people cross the border on foot daily.
The developments came as the Ebola outbreak entered its second year. It has now sickened more than 2,600 and killed more than 1,800 people, making it the second-deadliest Ebola outbreak in history. Last month the World Health Organization declared it a rare global emergency.
The World Health Organization has recommended against travel restrictions in response to the outbreak but says the risk of regional spread is “very high.”
“The challenges to stopping further transmission are indeed considerable. But none are insurmountable,” the organization said in a Wednesday statement. “And none can be an excuse for not getting the job done.”
Rwanda’s state minister for foreign affairs, Olivier Nduhungirehe, confirmed the border closing to The Associated Press on Thursday, a day after World Health Organization officials had praised African nations for keeping their borders open.
Last week, Saudi Arabia stopped issuing visas to people from Congo, citing the Ebola outbreak, shortly before the annual pilgrimage there this month.
