Uganda appeals to int'l community for funds to contain Ebola virus

Uganda appealed to the international community for funds to contain the Ebola virus at a meeting on Friday in the capital city of Kampala.

Three new cases of Ebola virus disease have been confirmed in Uganda, bringing the total number of confirmed infections to five in the country, said Uganda's Ministry of Health on Saturday.

These are the first locally detected Ebola cases recorded in Uganda since an outbreak began in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Health officials and disease experts meeting in Kampala say the next three months will be critical to containing the Ebola virus and preventing cross-border transmission.

A significant amount of funds is needed to support surveillance, lab testing, case management, and border preparedness in high-risk areas.

Meanwhile, the Africa Center for Disease Control is now accelerating efforts to develop a vaccine for the Bundibugyo strain.

"We need by the end of this year to say that for Bundibugyo we have a vaccine, we have medicine. There is no choice. We don't want to see another outbreak, and we are asking ourselves how can we contain that," said Jean Kaseya, director general of Africa Centres for Disease Control.

Officials are calling for closer coordination, not just inside the DRC, but across border communities most at risk.

"What is happening in Ituri can happen anywhere, provided we relax as a global community. Therefore, the earlier we move and work together in the DRC and also at the border districts of Uganda, the better for us," said Diana Atwine, permanent secretary of the Ugandan Ministry of Health.

Uganda is also seeking support to set up a dedicated facility near the DRC border for people crossing over seeking treatment, an effort aimed at reducing the risk of importing cases.

"In this particular case, we must make sure that even those who are coming for care, although we don't turn them away, but we must create a designated place. We do not really bring them into the country, because there is a potential of importation -- for the meantime over the time, we are having an outbreak," said Atwine.

Experts say the focus must continue to be on stopping the outbreak at its source in eastern DRC and putting preventative measures in place to keep it from spreading further across the region.

Uganda appeals to int'l community for funds to contain Ebola virus

Chinese spacecraft developers have accelerated development of the spacecraft for the country's Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceflight mission by five months — moving its launch from the original schedule in October to late May — achieving greater efficiency without compromising safety or reliability.

According to He Yu, general commander of China's manned spacecraft project of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the accelerated development began shortly after the emergency launch readiness of the Shenzhou-22 last November.

"We have accelerated the development of the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft. It was originally planned for launch in late October, but has now been moved up to late May. In the six months since last November, we have gained five months of progress. This means the pace of work has been quickened by nearly one time," He said.

He further explained that a series of measures to ensure mission success have been adopted alongside the accelerated development, adding multiple layers of assurance.

"We have continued the proven measures that have ensured success in the past, which are fundamentally based on a sound product assurance system and strict process control. We have maintained high-quality assembly operations, continued to implement efficient and high-quality automated testing procedures, adopted a specialized flight control model, and maintained a full-process quality confirmation system to ensure reliability and safety of the product," He said.

The Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship is scheduled to be launched at 23:08 Beijing time (15:08 GMT) on Sunday from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.

Chinese astronauts Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyuan and Lai Ka-ying will carry out the Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceflight mission, and Zhu will be the commander, the China Manned Space Agency announced at a press conference on Saturday.

Chinese engineers move Shenzhou-23 manned spacecraft mission forward by 5 months while ensuring safety