Ugandan authorities have ordered the closure of the border with Congo amid a surge in Ebola cases. The decision was made by a local Ebola task force. This comes after a rise in Ugandan health workers exposed to Ebola by Congolese patients who crossed the border before the outbreak was declared on May 15. Uganda has reported seven cases of Ebola, including a 59-year-old man who died in Kampala on May 14. Meanwhile, the number of suspected Ebola cases in eastern Congo is nearing 1,000, with at least 220 suspected deaths.

Africa's top public health body confirms a new Ebola outbreak in Congo's Ituri province. There are 246 suspected cases and 65 deaths so far. Uganda also reports one death from a case it says was imported from neighboring Congo. Most cases are in Mongwalu and Rwampara health zones. The Africa CDC says preliminary tests suggest a non-Ebola Zaire strain. Uganda's Health Ministry confirms the imported case and has quarantined contacts. The WHO is sending aid and funds to help Congo's response. The outbreak is the 17th in Congo since 1976 and raises concerns due to its proximity to Uganda and South Sudan.

Oceanwide Expeditions has revealed that 30 passengers disembarked from its cruise ship hit by a hantavirus outbreak on April 24. They left the ship on the remote island of St. Helena, nearly two weeks after the first passenger died. The company had previously said that a Dutch man's body was removed there, and that his wife also disembarked. She later died in South Africa. Authorities across four continents are tracing contacts of passengers who left the ship. Three passengers have died in the outbreak, and several others are sick. Argentina's Health Ministry tells The Associated Press that a team of investigators has yet to leave for the southern town they suspect is where a Dutch couple contracted the virus.

The U.N. health agency says two patients with hantavirus and one suspected of infection were evacuated from a cruise ship at the center of a deadly outbreak. Two of the patients arrived at Amsterdam's airport Wednesday evening and were driven off in ambulances. The ship departed from Cape Verde and headed to Spain's Canary Islands. The World Health Organization says eight cases have been recorded, with five confirmed by lab tests. Three people have died. Two Argentine officials investigating the origins of the outbreak say the government's leading hypothesis is that a Dutch couple contracted the virus during a bird-watching outing before boarding.

Footage obtained by The Associated Press of a cruise ship in a rare-virus outbreak shows deserted decks and medical teams in protective gear as the vessel and its nearly 150 passengers and crew waited another day for help off West Africa. Officials say three passengers have died, and at least four people are sick. Authorities say the outbreak involves hantavirus, which usually spreads by inhaling contaminated rodent droppings. Two cases are confirmed. Passengers are isolating in cabins. The vessel is in the Atlantic off Cape Verde. Officials say it plans to move to Spain's Canary Islands after medical evacuations. But Spanish officials said earlier Tuesday that they haven't made a decision.