WHO Retains Ebola’s Public Health Emergency Designation in Congo

The number of cases of Ebola in the eastern Congo continues to fall, and there had been speculation that the World Health Organization’s Emergency Committee would remove the designation of Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) from the outbreak. However, at its February 12 meeting, the Committee voted unanimously to keep the designation. The original designation was made on July 17, 2019. 

In its report, the committee put the Ebola risk as high at the national and regional levels, but low at the global level. The committee noted that sustained progress is dependent on improvement in the security situation, and security incidents had actually increased in recent months. The poor security situation and deep distrust of outsiders by locals has made this Ebola outbreak particularly difficult to tackle. The meeting also noted that outbreaks of other infectious diseases, notably measles and cholera, continue in the Democratic Republic of Congo and merit international attention and support.

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Posted by admin on Feb 15 2020. Filed under Health, News at Now. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry