“The world is no safer from pandemics” experts from the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB) said on Monday, underscoring how the world’s vulnerability was exposed by an Ebola outbreak a decade ago and then by the “global catastrophe” of COVID-19.
“As infectious disease outbreaks become more frequent They are also becoming more harmful, with increasing health, economic, political and social impacts, and a diminished ability to recover from them.”the experts said in a new report.
Ebola update
Ebola disease is a serious, often fatal disease that affects humans and other primates.
Until Saturday, May 16, health authorities had recorded eight laboratory-confirmed cases, 246 suspected cases and 80 suspicious deaths in the province of Ituri, in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
On Sunday, unconfirmed reports indicated that an individual had tested positive for Ebola in the rebel-held city of Goma, capital of North Kivu province and home to one million people.
The confirmed case is believed to be the wife of a man who died after contracting Ebola in Bunia, capital of Ituri province. Another person who had traveled from Bunia to Beni, in North Kivu, also tested positive for Ebola.
Cases have also been confirmed in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and across the border in Uganda, where two infected people traveled from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and were admitted to intensive care. Uganda’s capital, Kampala, is also affected, the WHO said.
The agency is supporting the Government-led response with 42 health professionals on the ground and supplies already deployed.
The agency warned that the outbreak is likely larger than currently detected, pointing to clusters of unexplained deaths, a high positivity rate among samples tested and limited understanding of transmission patterns. At least four deaths among healthcare workers have raised concerns about infection prevention measures in healthcare facilities.
In a statement, the UN agency noted that there is no approved therapy or vaccine to treat the Bundibugyo virus, responsible for the current outbreak.
“The current insecurity, the humanitarian crisis, the high mobility of the population, the urban or semi-urban nature of the current hotspot and the large network of informal health centers further aggravate the risk of spread, as seen during the large Ebola virus disease epidemic in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri in 2018-19,” the WHO said.
‘We know how to control Ebola’
“Ebola is a very serious disease, but we know how to control it,” said Mohamed Janabi, WHO director for Africa. PakGazette.
Dr. Janabi, a cardiologist, explained that the UN health agency has classified it as a public health emergency of international concern, which helps draw international attention, mobilize resources more quickly and ensure that countries work together in a coordinated manner.
“But that doesn’t mean people should panic. It means that the global system is working as it should, detecting and responding very decisively,” he added, calling on the media to disseminate correct information.
“Fear alone is an outbreak,” he concluded.
Listen to the full interview with Dr. Janabi:
AI is a blessing or a failure
Highlighting the potential of AI to improve preparedness and monitor pandemic threats, the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB) emphasized that without effective governance and safeguards, technological innovations could actually reduce health security and widen health care access gaps that defined COVID-19.
The Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB) is an independent monitoring and accountability body established in 2018 by the WHO and the World Bank (formally a specialized agency of the UN) to strengthen preparedness for global health crises.
The board highlights that such national leadership will be tested this year as governments work to finalize the WHO Pandemic Agreement and work to agree “a meaningful UN political declaration on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.”
