WHO Warns 6 African Nations Over New Ebola Resurgence

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  • The World Health Organization has asked six African countries to be alert for possible Ebola infections.
  • The warning comes in as Guinea reported new cases and Democratic Republic of Congo said its new infections were a resurgence of a previous outbreak.
  • Since the devastating epidemic in West Africa, the development of vaccines and treatments has greatly improved survival rates and containment efforts.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has alerted six African countries to watch out for potential cases of Ebola after it emerged in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Guinea, reports Reuters.

Ebola outbreak

The DRC declared the emergence of Ebola on February 7 while Guinea declared the outbreak on Sunday.

“We have already alerted the six countries around, including of course Sierra Leone and Liberia, and they are moving very fast to prepare and be ready and to look for any potential infection,” the WHO’s Margaret Harris told a Geneva briefing.

https://twitter.com/ONUGeneve/status/1361708582165745664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1361708582165745664%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.africanews.com%2F2021%2F02%2F16%2Febola-who-alerts-six-nations-over-new-resurgence%2F

Vaccination begins

Meanwhile, the Ebola vaccination campaign kicked out Monday in areas where the epidemic was first reported.

Between 2013 and 2016 more than 11,000 people died in the West Africa Ebola epidemic, which began in Guinea.

  • Ebola infects humans through close contact with infected animals, such as chimpanzees and fruit bats. It then spreads between humans by direct contact with infected blood, fluids, and organs.
  • It can also be spread indirectly through contact with contaminated environments.

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Source: Reuters