A disease that health officials have described as the fastest-growing disease ever recorded in Africa shows no signs of slowing down and could soon affect those outside the continent.
The unprecedented spread of Ebola has resulted in thousands of cases, with Nigeria reporting its first case in more than a decade last month, and additional reports in Kenya and other African countries.
With the majority of cases currently affecting people in Africa, health experts warn that the situation could change and countries should start preparing now.
“We want all countries to know that they are not safe if they do not take appropriate measures,” Dr Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told the Guardian.
Kaseya even compared the outbreak to COVID-19, saying that at the start of the pandemic in 2019 and early 2020, “many countries were saying there was no risk of being affected, but a few months later they became the hot spot.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared a public health emergency of international concern in May after the first confirmation of cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the death toll surpassed 5,000.
The cases have been linked to the Bundibugyo variant, a less common strain that has a high mortality rate and no approved treatments or vaccines.
Once a human is infected, the disease is spread through contact with blood, bodily fluids, or objects contaminated with infected fluids.
The last outbreak of this strain occurred in 2012 in Congo, with 57 cases and 29 deaths reported.
The DRC has been hardest hit by the outbreak, reporting more than 10,200 cases and nearly 5,000 deaths.
Meanwhile, Uganda reported 20 cases in May and June and recorded two deaths. The country currently has no active cases of Ebola.
African health ministers will meet to call for greater cross-border cooperation, while Kaseya hopes screening and testing will be used for people coming from affected regions at entry and exit points.
“The main message to ministers is that they need to understand that they could be affected, and we don’t want them to be surprised by what could happen,” he said.
The only non-African country to have a confirmed case so far is France, when a doctor returned from the DRC in June. The patient recovered and was released from care in early July.
A US citizen has already been confirmed to have contracted the virus and was treated at a hospital in Berlin.
Currently, the CDC reports that the likelihood of Ebola reaching the United States is low, and the agency has issued a new Ebola-related travel requirement intended to reduce the risk of Ebola entering the United States.
Starting November 3, travelers on international flights to the United States will be required to confirm that they have not been in the DRC in the previous 21 days, which reflects the time it takes for symptoms to appear.
Travelers – including US citizens, green card holders and airline crew members – will be required to complete a paper or digital declaration before boarding, even if they have never visited the DRC.
Major U.S. and international airline groups, however, oppose the rule, calling for more time to prepare and saying the requirement is too broad.
However, Dr. Tyler Evans, a California-based infectious disease physician and CEO of Wellness Equity Alliance, echoed growing concerns about how quickly the disease is spreading.
“It was a step in the right direction, given that we really need to take this seriously,” Evans told Fox News Digital. “We need to make sure this doesn’t cross borders. »
Gn Health
