Ebola risk high inside DR Congo, no pandemic emergency – WHO

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The UN World Health Organization (WHO) says the deadly Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda does not represent a global pandemic emergency, even though the risk is high at both the regional and national levels.

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WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus gave the update to journalists on the sidelines of the 79th World Health Assembly on Wednesday.

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Health ministers and diplomats are in Geneva for the 79th World Health Assembly.

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In an update on the fast-developing situation in eastern DRC, he said that beyond the several dozen confirmed cases of infection, there are almost 600 suspected cases of the Ebola Bundibugyo virus and 139 suspected deaths.

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Uganda reported two confirmed cases of Ebola in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, he added.

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In the absence of any vaccine or therapeutics for the virus, which Ghebreyesus stressed is extremely rare and was last detected in 2007, WHO teams are already working with community leaders in the epicentre province, Ituri, to help prevent wider transmission.

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Decades of violence in mineral-rich eastern DR Congo have contributed to chronic vulnerability among the population, including healthcare workers caught up in ongoing insecurity.

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“We always have a team in Goma, and we always continue to provide support to the population. And this is what we will continue doing during this outbreak…

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“We never left Goma during all the insecurity happening, so we will continue staying to provide security to the community we serve,” WHO’s Dr Marie Roseline Belizaire, Regional Emergency Director (ad interim) and Incident Manager, said.

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Underscoring the “inherently challenging” task of detecting outbreaks of Ebola in Ituri province, where April saw a new spike in civilian deaths, WHO’s Regional Director for Africa, Dr Mohamed Janabi, explained that effective disease surveillance depends on reliable community reporting, local health facilities being open and laboratory confirmation of infection.

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“In remote or insecure areas, it can take time for cases to be recognised,” he said, pointing out that the Ebola Bundibugyo virus was only identified after samples were transported some 1,700 kilometres (1,056 miles) across the country to the capital, Kinshasa.

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“As soon as WHO was aware of the [threat], support was provided to DR Congo to investigate as quickly as possible. And this ended up with the confirmation late last week,” Dr Anais Legand, WHO Technical Officer for Viral Haemorrhagic Fevers, said.

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“Investigations are ongoing to ascertain when and where exactly this outbreak started. Given the scale, we are thinking that it started probably a couple of months ago, but investigations are ongoing, and our priority is really to cut the transmission chain.”

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Wednesday’s briefing followed a meeting of the WHO ​Emergency Committee ‌on Tuesday in Geneva, which confirmed that the Ebola outbreak is a public health emergency of international concern but not ​a pandemic emergency.

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Chair of the panel, Prof. Lucille Blumberg, stressed that Ebola transmission is through direct contact with blood and body fluids of an infected person, which was likely the case of a patient who died on May 5 in Bunia, capital city of Ituri province, after their family decided to replace the coffin.

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“So, it’s not casual contact; it’s not airborne. I think we need to be aware of that. And this relates to travel restrictions, which are not supported under the (International Health Regulations) IHR recommendations,” she insisted.

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Blumbert underlined the challenges of bringing the outbreak under control, given the ongoing humanitarian crisis, security challenges, the highly mobile population, and proximity to many borders.

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“Resources, additional people…research and development of countermeasures (are) urgently required,” she insisted, including intensified surveillance and identification of potential contacts.

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In accordance with IHR Article 12, Ghebreyesus declared a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday over the Ebola outbreak. (NAN)

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