[ad_1]
A senior health official of the African Union (AU) has warned of a reduction in displacement in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), while the Ebola outbreak could spread more largely in the region.
According to the DRC's Ministry of Health, the current Ebola outbreak has killed more than 1,700 people – more than two-thirds of those who have contracted it – since its emergence in the provinces of East North Kivu and Ituri, last August.
Together, the two provinces border Rwanda, Uganda and South Sudan.
"We want to make sure that the international community and the member states of Africa do not impose any travel restrictions on anyone traveling outside the DRC or coming from outside the DRC" said John Nkengasong, director of the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). ), told reporters Friday at the headquarters of the AU in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia.
This would prevent "our ability to effectively control the virus," added Nkengasong.
& # 39; Do not panic & # 39;
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday that the outbreak was a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) just days after the spread of the virus in a large urban center. rapid increase in transmission rates.
A PHEIC is a rare designation used only for the most serious epidemics and had only been applied four times in the past.
Such a statement usually attracts the attention of the international community and may lead to an increase in international badistance.
The WHO said the movement recognized the "increased risks at the national and regional levels and the need for intensified and coordinated action to manage them ", also stated No country should close its borders or impose restrictions on travel or trade because of Ebola.
Any border closures with the DRC could make it more difficult for people and medical supplies to move into or out of the affected area, potentially hampering response teams' efforts to end the epidemic.
"For the rest of the world, the main recommendation is: support the DRC and do not panic," said Friday the spokeswoman for the WHO, Margaret Harris. "Do not close borders, do not put restrictions on travel and trade, do not panic."
Perfect storm & # 39;
Sunday, the Ministry of Health of the DRC recorded the first case of Ebola in Goma, a town of about two million inhabitants in North Kivu and near the border with Rwanda.
Goma has a port connecting the city of Bukavu in the neighboring province of South Kivu, as well as an airport serving the capital Kinshasa, Entebbe and Addis Ababa in Uganda.
Apart from the case in Goma and three fatal cases in Uganda last month, the epidemic was confined to other predominantly rural areas of North Kivu and Ituri.
The WHO said on Thursday that there were currently no cases outside the DRC, with the police washing their hands and controlling the controlled fever at the border with Rwanda.
But efforts to end the epidemic have been repeatedly hampered by a "perfect storm" of regional insecurity in eastern DRC and a deep distrust of the community towards the crisis. and towards the authorities.
Unidentified badailants killed two Ebola health workers near Mukulia in North Kivu last week, the latest in a series of badaults against medical staff or health facilities.
In the midst of unrest, health workers vaccinated some 160,000 people. The vaccine is experimental but is valued be effective at 97.5% and according to WHO, can protect a person up to 12 months.
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
[ad_2]
Source link
