The World Health Organization (WHO) has hailed Nigeria
for containing the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).
The deadliest Ebola epidemic ever has now killed 2,793 in
West Africa, it said yesterday, adding that Senegal too had basically contained
it.
The UN health agency, which also published the results of
the latest meeting of its Ebola emergency committee, said 5,762 people had been
infected in five West African countries as of September 18.
Guinea, where the outbreak began at the start of the
year, and neighbouring Liberia and Sierra Leone by far account for most of the
cases and continue to see ballooning numbers.
Liberia has been especially hard-hit, with 3,022 cases
and 1,578 deaths alone.
At the same time, “the outbreaks in Senegal and Nigeria
are pretty much contained”, WHO said in a statement.
Senegal has not reported any new cases of the deadly
virus since it registered its first and only case on August 29 — a Guinean
student who has since recovered.
Nigeria, where 21 people have been infected, eight of
whom have died, has not reported new cases since September 8, WHO pointed out
The incubation period for Ebola is 21 days and double
that time must pass without any new cases arising before a country can be
deemed transmission-free.
The WHO said a meeting of its Ebola emergency committee
last week had determined that the outbreak remained a “public health emergency
of international concern”.
The committee had reiterated its opposition to general
bans on international travel or trade, although people infected with Ebola or
who had had contact with Ebola patients should not be permitted to travel, WHO
said.
Blocking flights to or from affected areas and other
travel restrictions only serve to “isolate affected countries, resulting in
detrimental economic consequences, and hinder relief and response efforts
risking further international spread,” it warned.
The emergency committee also stressed that in cases where
measures like quarantines are deemed necessary, countries must ensure that
“they are proportionate and evidence-based, and that accurate information,
essential services and commodities, including food and water, are provided to
the affected populations.”
It also insisted that “adequate security measures” should
be put in place to ensure the safety and protection of healthcare workers, who
face high infection rates and sometimes violence from frustrated and frightened
populations.
Last week, eight members of an Ebola education team said
to include local health officials and journalists, were found dead after they
were attacked by angry locals in southern Guinea.
The emergency committee urged the affected countries to
ramp up their response to the outbreak and called on all countries to
strengthen their preparedness through simulations and personnel training.
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