Ebola in DRC threatens neighboring South Sudan: UN – Xinhua



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UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) – The Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has prompted the UN and its humanitarian partners to step up preparations for the spread of the virus in Sudan on Monday. South neighbor.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has stated that the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has allocated US $ 2 million to support critical readiness activities. Ebola virus to protect about 440,000 people in high-risk areas of southern Sudan, "said Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN chief.

"Although no cases have been confirmed in South Sudan, the World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that the country presents a" very high risk "because of its proximity to the DRC, "he said. "CERF funding will help strengthen surveillance, strengthen case management capacity, improve laboratory services, and strengthen infection control and prevention."

The WHO said on Saturday that there were 774 confirmed cases, of which 54 unofficially confirmed but considered likely since the confirmation of the haemorrhagic fever outbreak last August. Of these, there were 427 deaths, including 54 probable victims.

Last month, South Sudan, helped by the UN, and its humanitarian partners began vaccinating health workers and other front-line defense personnel against this often deadly disease, said l & # 39; WHO.

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