Uganda closed its 500-mile border with Congo in May after WHO declared an Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo. The closure halted cross-border trade and movement at the Lamia River bridge near Bundibugyo, a town where the rare Bundibugyo virus species was discovered in 2007. WHO reports over 1,000 deaths and 2,400 infections in Congo, though actual numbers may be higher.

Uganda has confirmed only 20 cases, with no new infections in over a month, and Bundibugyo has recorded zero cases. Nurse Ezekiel Kisughu, who survived the 2007 outbreak, recalls the trauma when the "unknown disease" killed colleagues. Dr. Wessam Mankoula of Africa CDC praises Uganda's containment expertise. Schools and markets remain open with hand-washing stations, though masks are absent.

The border closure devastates local economies. Teacher Mirembe Marvin says parents cannot pay fees, and professor Swizen Kyomuhendo cannot visit 70 relatives in Congo. Meanwhile, cocoa farming replaces subsistence agriculture, reducing bushmeat consumption linked to Ebola transmission. Yet nurse Kisughu warns the porous border leaves Uganda vulnerable: "We are dependent on one another."