NCDC Heightens Alert As WHO Raises Risk For Ebola. NCDC has disclosed that there is no report of the Ebola outbreak within Nigeria as WHO warns that the epidemic is spreading across DRC and regional neighbors.
Kano —
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has raised the risk level of the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to “very high” nationally as suspected cases hit 750, with the disease spreading across borders into Uganda.
WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus announced the updated assessment on Friday during a Member State information session on the Ebola outbreak and a separate hantavirus outbreak linked to the cruise ship MV Hondius.
According to the WHO, DRC has recorded 82 confirmed Ebola cases so far.
However, the agency said the outbreak is likely far larger, with nearly 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths already reported.
NCDC Heightens Alert As WHO Raises Risk For Ebola
“In Uganda, two cases have been confirmed in people who travelled from DRC, with one death,” Mr Ghebreyesus said
Mr Ghebreyesus noted that the organisation had previously assessed the outbreak risk as high nationally and regionally, and low globally, but has now revised it to “very high” at the national level, “high” regionally and “low” globally.
WHO said the outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, unlike previous outbreaks driven by the Zaire strain.
The agency explained that there are currently no approved vaccines or therapeutics for the Bundibugyo virus, making containment more difficult.
NCDC Heightens Alert As WHO Raises Risk For Ebola
WHO also noted that commonly used Ebola diagnostic tests designed for the Zaire strain do not detect the Bundibugyo strain effectively, contributing to delays in identifying the outbreak.
“There have only been two previous outbreaks of Bundibugyo, in Uganda in 2007 and DRC in 2012,” Mr Ghebreyesus stated
Conflict Worsening Outbreak
The organisation aslo warned that insecurity in the provinces of Ituri and North Kivu is further complicating response efforts.
According to the WHO, intensified fighting in recent months has displaced more than 100,000 people, while about four million people in the affected areas require urgent humanitarian assistance.
The agency also said approximately 10 million people are facing acute hunger.
Mr Ghebreyesus disclosed that a hospital in Ituri was attacked on Thursday, with tents and medical supplies set on fire.
NCDC Heightens Alert As WHO Raises Risk For Ebola
“Building trust in the affected communities is critical to a successful response,” he said.
WHO said it has deployed 22 international staff to support response operations and released $3.9 million from its Contingency Fund for Emergencies.
Hantavirus deaths.
Meanwhile, the WHO said the hantavirus outbreak linked to passengers and crew aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship has now recorded 12 cases and three deaths.
The latest confirmed case involved a crew member who disembarked in Tenerife and was later repatriated to the Netherlands, where the individual remains in isolation.
NCDC Heightens Alert As WHO Raises Risk For Ebola
WHO noted that no additional deaths have been reported since 2 May, when the outbreak was first reported.
The agency said more than 600 contacts across 30 countries are still being monitored, while efforts continue to trace a small number of high-risk contacts.
Countries supporting the response include Argentina, Cabo Verde, Chile, South Africa, Spain and the United Kingdom.
No Ebola Outbreak In Nigeria
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) said the country has recorded no confirmed Ebola case linked to the ongoing outbreak in Central and East Africa.
The agency said the country remains on heightened alert and has strengthened surveillance at points of entry, including airports, seaports and land borders, to prevent importation of the virus.
The health body also warned against misinformation circulating on social media suggesting that Ebola cases had been detected in Nigeria, describing such claims as false and capable of causing unnecessary panic.
Following the outbreak declaration, authorities said surveillance systems at points of entry had been strengthened, while emergency response mechanisms were being reviewed to improve readiness.
NCDC Heightens Alert As WHO Raises Risk For Ebola
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) also announced additional health screening measures and enhanced Ebola surveillance across international airports.
The measures include heightened passenger monitoring, screening protocols, and coordination with health authorities to detect and respond swiftly to suspected cases.
World Bank Increase Fund To Curb Spread
The World Bank said it is putting together a financing package to ensure more funding can be made available to curb the outbreak and has dispatched staff and resources to the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Monique Vledder, who heads the World Bank’s global health department during an interview with Reuters said the bank was also very concerned about neighboring states South Sudan and Burundi, which have weak healthcare response systems.
She further noted that Uganda, which has reported two Ebola cases, has a strong public health system but also faced some financing gaps.
According to the World Bank,the DRC has an existing $250 million health project with the World Bank that was approved in March 2024 to help the Central African country detect and respond to disease outbreaks and other emergencies.
NCDC Heightens Alert As WHO Raises Risk For Ebola
The United Nations on Friday released around $60 million from an emergency fund to help contain the outbreak and the United States is also sending in a rapid response team and this week said it would fund some 50 emergency response clinics.
“We are pulling together today and early next week a complete package where we will be drawing from different types of financing mechanisms that will help us to make available more funding in a rapid way,” Vledder said
Ebola is an often-fatal virus that causes fever, body aches, vomiting and diarrhea. It spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, contaminated materials or people who have died from the disease
