As the Ebola outbreak in the DRC continues, new KFF explainer examines the status of the response and the limited U.S. role to date - Kaiser Family Foundation

-

The ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), recently declared a “public health emergency of international concern” by the WHO Director-General, is now second only to the West Africa outbreak of 2014-2015 in terms of number of cases and deaths. A new KFF explainer reviews the history of the outbreak in the DRC, which U.S. agencies are involved, how U.S. personnel are assisting, global response activities, and the role of vaccination in controlling the outbreak.

U.S. engagement has been limited compared to the 2014-2015 West Africa outbreak, where the U.S played a leading role and mobilized an unprecedented amount of funding and personnel. The U.S. has chosen a more limited role in this outbreak due to security concerns as well as improvements in global capacity to respond to Ebola. So far, the U.S. has contributed $136 million for the response.

The explainer also discusses how the U.S. government might change its approach and engagement in the DRC going forward, such as by providing additional funding or allowing U.S. government personnel to work directly in the outbreak zone.



https://ift.tt/2GCFZM5

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Azar calls for transparency in Ebola-like death in Tanzania | TheHill - The Hill

-
Image
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on Monday called for transparency from Tanzanian officials in the case of a patient who recently died after suffering Ebola-like symptoms, The Associated Press  reported . Azar told reporters in Uganda that he and others are “very concerned” and urged Tanzania’s government to share lab results related to the case. ADVERTISEMENT Congo, which borders Tanzania, is in the midst of the second-deadliest Ebola outbreak in history, with confirmed cases now exceeding 3,000. Azar said efforts were underway to secure Tanzania’s compliance with international health regulations and obligations to the World Health Organization (WHO) “to protect Tanzanians as well as all people in the region," according to the AP. Tanzania’s government said Saturday there is no confirmed case of Ebola inside its borders. According to an internal WHO document obtained by AP, the patient, a 34-year-old woman, died on Sept. 8 and was bu...
Read more

A Russian lab containing smallpox and Ebola exploded - Vox.com

-
Image
Russia’s State Research Center of Virology, in the city of Koltsovo in Siberia, has one of the largest collections of dangerous viruses anywhere in the world. During the Cold War, the lab developed biological weapons and defenses against them, and it reportedly stored dangerous strains of smallpox, anthrax, and Ebola among other viruses. So lots of people were concerned when an explosion ripped through the facility on Monday. According to Russian independent media , the laboratory was undergoing repairs when a gas bottle exploded, sparking a 30-square-meter fire that left one worker severely burned. Glass throughout the building was reportedly destroyed in the blast, and the fire reportedly spread through the building’s ventilation system . The lab is one of only two in the world known to still have samples of smallpox, which was eradicated from the wild in 1977. The other is in the United States . Experts say that under certain circumstances, an explosion could lead to the releas...
Read more

Distinguishing viruses responsible for influenza-like illness

-
Image
bird flu 2021 :: Article Creator Bird Flu Pandemic Preparedness Activities Are Not Evidence Of A Conspiracy Este artículo estará disponible en español en El Tiempo Latino. Flu viruses have a long history of making animals and humans sick. This includes a track record of causing pandemics, which can occur when unfamiliar viruses begin to spread widely among humans. Recently, a type of bird flu — called H5N1 — has been spreading among poultry, dairy cows and wild animals in the U.S. And infecting some farmworkers, adding to existing concerns about the virus's pandemic potential. The U.S. Government, in collaboration with others around the world, has a history of flu pandemic preparedness activities, including monitoring the flu viruses circulating in people and certain animals and stockpiling relevant vaccines and antivirals. These activities are meant to ensure scientists spot any concerning changes to flu viruses' genetics or circulati...
Read more