More than one million people affected by Ebola outbreak
With more than one million people affected by the current Ebola
outbreak in West Africa, the WHO has warned that there is "no early end
in sight" to the severe health crisis and called for "extraordinary
measures" to stop the transmission of the disease.
According to the latest update issued by the World Health
Organisation (WHO), 128 new cases of Ebola virus disease, as well as 56
deaths, were reported from Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone
between August 10 and 11, bringing the total number of cases to 1,975
and deaths to 1,069.
WHO director general Margaret Chan said more than one million people
are affected by the disease and these people need daily material
support, including food.The infected people are in the "hot zone of
disease transmission" on the borders of the three countries most
impacted by the disease."There is no early end (to the outbreak) in
sight. This is an extraordinary outbreak that requires extraordinary
measures for containment. This is a severe health crisis, and it can
rapidly become a humanitarian crisis if we do not do more to stop
transmission," Chan said during a briefing in Geneva yesterday.
UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon chaired a UN system-wide
coordination on Ebola and stressed the need for the entire UN system to
support the WHO's efforts in combatting the outbreak.Chan said the
outbreak has placed every city with an international airport at risk of
an imported case."Decisions to seal off the hot zone of disease
transmission, that is, the area where the borders of Guinea, Liberia,
and Sierra Leone intersect, are critical for stopping the reinfection of
areas via the cross-border movement of people," she said.
Chan said that the isolation of the zone most affected by the
outbreak has made it even more difficult for agencies, like MSF (Doctors
without Borders), to bring in staff and supplies."The outbreak is
unprecedented in its size, severity, and complexity. Cases are occurring
in remote rural areas that are difficult to access, but also in capital
cities," she said.She also expressed concern over the "unprecedented"
number of health-care workers who have been infected by the virus.So
far, nearly 170 health-care workers have been infected and more than 80
have died.
The outbreak is also having serious economic consequences on the
countries in the region, threatening to push these countries backwards
as airlines are cancelling flights and companies are moving their staff
out of the region."Six months into the outbreak, fear is proving to be
the most difficult barrier to overcome... Fear, and the hostility it can
provoke, have threatened the security of national and international
response teams," Chan said.Ban appointed David Nabarro as Senior United
Nations System Coordinator for Ebola, in support of the work done by
Chan and her team to counter the outbreak, which the agency has
designated a "public health emergency of international concern."
Nabarro would be responsible for ensuring that the UN system makes an
effective and coordinated contribution to the global effort to control
the outbreak.Meanwhile, a 12-member ethics panel convened by WHO said it
is ethical to treat Ebola patients with experimental drugs to counter
the largest, most severe and most complex outbreak of the disease in
history.On the operational side, WHO said it is finalising its strategic
operations response plan and expects to share it with countries and
partners in the coming days.
The UN health agency said that standard measures, like early
detection and isolation of cases, contact tracing and monitoring, and
rigorous procedures for infection control, have stopped previous Ebola
outbreaks including those in Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the
Congo, as well as Gabon.
The Ebola virus is highly contagious, but is not airborne.
Transmission requires close contact with the bodily fluids of an
infected person, as can occur during health-care procedures, home care,
or traditional burial practices, which involve the close contact of
family members and friends with bodies.
TOI
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