By Charmaine Ndlela
The Border Management Authority (BMA) has stepped up South Africa’s preparedness for a possible Ebola threat at the country’s borders, conducting a two-day simulation exercise at the Beitbridge Port of Entry in Musina, Limpopo.
The exercise, held from 19 to 20 August 2026, was aimed at testing the country’s ability to detect, isolate and respond to a suspected case of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) at one of its busiest border crossings.
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The exercise was the second Ebola simulation conducted by the BMA this year, following an exercise at OR Tambo International Airport on 19 June.
BMA Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer Dr Michael Masiapato said regular simulations were critical to ensuring that authorities were ready to respond to public health emergencies.
“Preparedness is fundamental to effective border management and the protection of public health,” Masiapato said.
He said the Beitbridge exercise was particularly important because of the high volume of people, vehicles and goods passing through the land border every day.
“Building on the exercise conducted at OR Tambo International Airport, the Beitbridge simulation allows us to test our readiness in a high-volume land border environment and strengthen collaboration with our health, emergency response, law enforcement and international partners,” he said.
The simulation brought together several government departments, emergency services and international partners involved in public health emergency preparedness.
The BMA delegation was led by Assistant Commissioner Murdock Ramathuba and included officials from Port Health, Port Agriculture, Port Immigration, Risk Management and other operational functions.
The exercise was based on a realistic scenario involving a traveller suspected of having Ebola.
Officials were required to work through the different stages of a potential public health emergency, from the initial identification of a suspected case to isolation, notification and referral.
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The simulation also tested infection prevention and control measures, contact identification, environmental decontamination and communication with travellers and stakeholders.
On the first day, officials participated in a tabletop exercise focused on strategic coordination and decision-making.
The exercise tested how quickly and effectively different stakeholders could assess a suspected case, activate their response plans and share critical information.
Risk communication, organisational responsibilities and cross-border information sharing were also placed under scrutiny.
The second day involved a functional exercise at the port and hospital, allowing officials to put their plans into practice under simulated emergency conditions.
The exercise was conducted while routine border operations continued, providing an opportunity to test whether the emergency response could be activated without unnecessarily disrupting the movement of people and goods.
Officials tested procedures for screening travellers, identifying suspected cases, initiating isolation, notifying the relevant authorities and arranging safe transportation to healthcare facilities.
They also tested procedures for identifying people who may have come into contact with a suspected case, decontaminating affected areas and communicating with travellers and other stakeholders.
Among those participating were the National and Limpopo Provincial Departments of Health, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), Emergency Medical Services, South African Revenue Service Customs, the South African National Defence Force, Musina Local Municipality and Zimbabwean health authorities.
The Department of Agriculture, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Johns Hopkins Program for International Education in Gynecology and Obstetrics (JHPIEGO) and other technical partners also took part.
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Beitbridge is a critical gateway between South Africa and Zimbabwe and is the country’s busiest land border crossing.
The large volumes of commercial trucks, public transport, private vehicles, travellers and goods moving through the port make effective health surveillance and emergency response systems essential.
As a designated port of entry under the International Health Regulations of 2005, Beitbridge has an important role in preventing, detecting and responding to public health threats associated with international travel and trade.
The BMA said the simulation was not simply about testing individual officials, but about examining how different institutions work together when confronted with a fast-moving public health emergency.
The exercise also provided an opportunity to identify gaps in existing preparedness plans and determine where improvements were needed.
For border officials, the ability to identify a suspected case early and immediately activate the appropriate response can be critical in limiting the potential spread of a highly infectious disease.
The BMA said lessons from the Beitbridge exercise would contribute to strengthening preparedness and response capabilities at ports of entry across the country.
The exercise comes against the backdrop of a rapidly worsening Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), detected in May 2026.
According to World Health Organisation, the current Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD) is the largest Ebola disease outbreak ever recorded in DRC, irrespective of Ebola virus species. On 17 May 2026, WHO declared the Bundibugyo virus disease outbreak in the DRC and Uganda a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)
The WHO has described the outbreak as the largest Ebola outbreak ever reported in the DRC and said it is expanding faster than previous Ebola outbreaks. As of 12 August, the WHO reported 4,665 confirmed cases and 2,184 deaths in the DRC.
