UN Warns Ebola Epidemic is Decreasing but Not Yet Contained

by Dr. Trupti Shirole on January 30, 2015 at 5:36 AM

The UN Ebola coordinator David Nabarro warned that the ebola epidemic is decreasing but is still present in a third of the areas of the three worst affected west African nations of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. He was speaking at the African Union headquarters (AU), as leaders gather a day ahead of a summit meeting where Ebola is a key issue for discussion.

Nabarro said, "The number of cases is decreasing week by week and getting to zero in many places... but we still see occasional flare-ups and we still see some surprises with new cases out of our contact lists. That means that the epidemic is not contained yet. We must maintain the effort with even greater intensity, the forthcoming rainy season is a concern."

Ebola Virus Disease

Ebola is caused by a virus via direct contact with body fluids or infected blood. Scientists have identified five types of Ebola or Ebola hemorrhagic fever virus.

He said that there were key lessons from the response to Ebola, and said that a proposals to set up an African equivalent to the United States' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would be a step forward. He said, "It took us too long to be ready, we need a better response capacity. The African CDC will allow the AU to be much quicker." AU Commissioner for Social Affairs Mustapha Sidiki Kaloko promised that African CDC would be operational by mid-2015.

Experts have called for a massive 'Post-Ebola Marshall Plan' for affected west African nations, referring to the United States aid package to rebuild Europe after World War II. Oxfam said, "It's clear that Africa's existing architecture for early disease detection, response and control is wholly inadequate."

Source: Medindia

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