Johannesburg: Ten African nations have been identified as 'at risk' for an Ebola virus disease outbreak following a surge in cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) cautioned during a briefing.
According to Anadolu Agency, the countries listed by Jean Kaseya, head of Africa CDC, include Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Zambia. Except for Ethiopia, these nations share borders with DR Congo or Uganda, where Ebola cases have been recorded.
The Africa CDC, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), has made a funding appeal for over $314 million to support response measures. Most of this funding is allocated to Congo and Uganda for treatment, surveillance, and prevention. The remaining ten at-risk countries will share $54 million for implementing emergency interventions.
Key interventions proposed include setting up national incident management systems, enhancing cross-border coordination, accelerating research on vaccines specific to the Bundibugyo strain, deploying additional response teams, and pre-positioning emergency supplies to mitigate the risk of accelerated transmission.
DR Congo has experienced a significant increase in Ebola cases since the outbreak was declared in Ituri province on May 15. The disease has subsequently spread to North Kivu and South Kivu provinces, with around 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths reported according to the WHO. At least 82 cases and seven deaths have been confirmed in DR Congo.
In Uganda, three new Ebola cases were reported on Saturday, bringing the total to five confirmed cases in the current outbreak, as per the Health Ministry. In response, Congolese authorities have restricted social activities in Ituri, the outbreak's epicenter, including banning gatherings of more than 50 people in affected health zones.
The WHO has escalated the alert level to 'very high' and neighboring countries have stepped up preventative measures, including imposing travel restrictions from DR Congo, to curb the spread of the virus.