5 New events
52 Ongoing events
46 Outbreaks
9 Humanitarian crises
- This Weekly Bulletin focuses on selected acute public health emergencies occurring in the WHO African Region. The WHO Health Emergencies Programme is currently monitoring 55 events in the region. This week’s edition covers key new and ongoing events, including:
Ebola virus disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Measles in Liberia
Hepatitis E in Namibia
Humanitarian crisis in north-east Nigeria
Humanitarian crisis in Cameroon.
For each of these events, a brief description, followed by public health measures implemented and an interpretation of the situation is provided.
A table is provided at the end of the bulletin with information on all new and ongoing public health events currently being monitored in the region, as well as events that have recently been closed.
Major issues and challenges include:
The Ministry of Health and WHO continue to closely monitor the Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with cautious optimism. The situation in Bikoro and Wangata (Mbandaka city) health zones has remained calm since mid-May 2018 when the last confirmed EVD cases were reported. Much attention is now focused on Iboko Health Zone, especially remote communities in Itipo health area, where the last confirmed case-patient developed symptoms on 2 June 2018. Efforts have been made to identify all potential transmission chains and all new suspected cases and alerts are promptly investigated, and contacts monitored. It is critical that the ongoing interventions are sustained until the outbreak is contained.
Liberia has been experiencing recurrent measles outbreaks since the beginning of 2018. Similarly, 12 other countries in the African Region are currently experiencing measles outbreaks. Despite the remarkable progress made in measles control, premised on the Measles Initiative, outbreaks continue to occur even in highly vaccinated populations. This situation needs to be carefully examined and effectively responded to in order to halt the current trend. Immunization programmes in many countries are well-developed and should be able to stand up to this situation.