WHO Director: We Expect an Increase in Suspected Ebola Cases Due to Delayed Detection

SadaNews - The World Health Organization announced, in a press conference held at its headquarters in Geneva, a public health emergency in response to the outbreak of the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the WHO, explained that this is the first time a public health emergency is declared due to an outbreak of this pandemic in these two countries, based on Article 12 of the organization's charter.

Dr. Tedros emphasized that declaring a public health emergency does not necessarily mean reaching a state of a global epidemic or classifying it as a "pandemic," indicating that the risk assessment is currently considered high at both the regional and international levels, but lower at the global level.

The Director-General revealed that there are 61 confirmed cases of the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, concentrated in the Ituri and Kivu regions and the cities of Bunia and Goma.

The primary outbreak hotspot is located in the "Ituri" province in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, an area experiencing ongoing armed conflicts, making it difficult to curb the spread of the virus, according to health experts from Oxford University speaking to the Independent newspaper.

Ghebreyesus added that the risk is not limited to confirmed cases, but also extends to nearly 600 suspected cases in both the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.

Dr. Tedros warned of projections of rising numbers due to the long time the disease remained undetected and unrecorded.

The organization expressed concern about the arrival of the epidemic in urban areas and its cross-border spread, as cases have been recorded in the Ugandan capital Kampala involving individuals who traveled from Congo, in addition to an American citizen who was transferred to Germany for treatment.

The crisis is exacerbated by complex security and humanitarian challenges, especially in the Ituri region, which has witnessed armed conflicts resulting in waves of refugee and displacement for thousands of people, as well as the presence of landmines hindering the movement of medical teams and relief campaigns.

Immediate Response and Lack of Vaccine

In the absence of an approved vaccine to counter this outbreak, the concerned authorities have rushed to implement strict measures; Dr. Tedros praised the Ugandan government's decision to postpone national celebrations that were expected to gather nearly one million people, in order to avoid the risk of outbreak transmission.

Ghebreyesus also announced that the organization has allocated $9.5 million to support rapid response efforts and provide necessary equipment, laboratories, and resources on the ground.

For her part, Professor Lucy Bloomfield, Chair of the Emergency Committee, stressed the need to intensify responses and protect families and refugees, praising the transparency of the involved countries and the cooperation of laboratories and research institutes in delivering accurate reports and addressing the concurrent outbreak of other diseases.

What is the Ebola Virus?

Ebola virus disease is a rare but severe illness that often affects humans and can be fatal in many cases. The virus first appeared in historical records in 1976.

The virus is transmitted to humans through close contact with the blood, secretions, or other body fluids of infected animals. Once transmission occurs, the incubation period for the virus (the time between infection and the onset of symptoms) ranges from 2 to 21 days.

Symptoms of the disease often present suddenly and include: fever, headache, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, rashes, in addition to advanced symptoms indicating kidney and liver dysfunction.

Health workers face a significant challenge in the early diagnosis of the disease, as it is difficult in the early stages to distinguish between Ebola and other infectious diseases common in Africa, such as malaria, typhoid fever, shigellosis, and meningitis, making rapid response and accurate laboratory testing critical to save lives and contain the outbreak.

Source: Al Jazeera