United Kingdom issues travel warning on Tanzania over ‘non-existent’ Ebola case

The UK has issued a travel warning on Tanzania following concerns of possible Ebola outbreak in the East Africa country.

The warning comes as pressure is being mounted on Tanzania’s authorities to give more details on the death of a patient suspected to have contracted Ebola.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) last month expressed concern about the unwillingness of authorities in Tanzania to share detailed information about the suspected case.

WHO’s concern followed a receipt of unofficial reports regarding the death of the patient in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s capital, suspected of having contracted the deadly Ebola Virus.

The UK’s travel warning comes days after the United States issued a travel advisory to its citizens in Tanzania.

No Ebola in Tanzania

Around 75,000 UK nationals visit Tanzania every year, according to reports.

Tanzania has refuted the allegations of hiding an Ebola case in the country, summoning the WHO country representative on the matter.

According to the spokesperson of the East African country Hassan Abbasi; “The representative insisted that the WHO has not declared that there is Ebola in Tanzania, nor does it have any evidence on that and pledged to cooperate with the government.

“During the talks, the WHO agreed to strictly follow guidelines outlined by the agency itself and ratified by the government if it wants to get any additional information from the Tanzanian government.”

However, the WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib told reporters in Geneva last month that the agency had not received any information after it had requested Tanzanian authorities to assess potential risks from the recent incidences.

 “What we need to do is to continue communicating with them and provide them with help and expertise. We cannot sanction a country. It is not our mandate,” Chaib said.

According to the World Health Organization, a woman with the suspected Ebola virus died in Tanzania’s coastal city of Dar es Salaam.

Close contacts of the deceased person were said to be quarantined in undisclosed locations.

Tanzania’s western neighbour, the Democratic Republic of Congo, is grappling with an Ebola outbreak. The deadly virus has killed more than 2,000 people in the past year.