WHO declares Ebola outbreak in Congo, Uganda an emergency of international concern
Disha Mishra And Akanksha Khushi
bengaluru: The World Health Organization on Sunday declared the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda an “international public health emergency.”
The outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus does not meet the criteria for a pandemic emergency, but countries that share land borders with the Democratic Republic of Congo are at high risk of further spread, WHO said.
As of Saturday, 80 suspected deaths, eight laboratory-confirmed cases and 246 suspected cases had been reported in at least three health zones in the northeastern Ituri province, including Bunia, Rwampara and Mongbwalu, the U.N. health agency said in a statement.
The Ministry of Health of the Democratic Republic of Congo announced on Friday that 80 people died in the new epidemic in Ituri.
Given the high positive rate in initial samples and increasing reports of suspected cases, a much larger outbreak than has been detected and reported so far could potentially emerge, WHO said.
It was stated that the epidemic was “extraordinary” and that, unlike the Zaire type of the virus, there is no approved treatment or vaccine specific to the Bundibugyo virus.
The Democratic Republic of Congo-Uganda outbreak has posed a public health risk to other countries, and some international spread has already been documented. The agency advised countries to mobilize national disaster and emergency management mechanisms and initiate cross-border screening and screening of major internal roads.
The World Health Organization said two apparently unrelated cases, including one death, were laboratory-confirmed in Uganda’s capital Kampala on Friday and Saturday in people traveling from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and said another laboratory-confirmed case reported in Kinshasa, the DRC’s capital, was from a person returning from Ituri.
The World Health Organization has recommended that contacts or cases of Bundibugyo virus disease should not travel unless part of a medical evacuation. Confirmed cases should be isolated, monitored daily, and international travel should be avoided for up to 21 days after exposure.
At the same time, WHO urged countries not to close their borders or restrict travel and trade out of fear; as this could lead to people and goods making unofficial border crossings that are not monitored.
Ebola virus disease, a severe and often fatal illness, is endemic to the vast tropical forests of the Congo. The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the virus spreads through direct contact with the body fluids of infected people, contaminated materials or body fluids of people who died from the disease.
Reuters
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