Ghana hosts meeting on Ebola

The current Ebola outbreak is the largest reported to date in terms of number of cases, deaths and geographical spread, while for the first time, the disease is also circulating in both urban and rural communities, Dr Luis Gommes Sambo, Regional Director , World health Organisation (WHO) office for Africa, said Tuesday.

At an Emergency Ministerial Meeting on Ebola Outbreak in West Africa, Dr Sambo said as at July 2014, the cumulative total of 750 and cases and 455 deaths had been reported in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, making its impact enormous in terms loss of human lives and negative social and economic effects.

Health workers have also been proportionately affected with over 60 cases and 32 deaths.

“The current trend of this epidemic and potential risks of cross border and international spread constitutes a public health matter of grave concern,” he said.

The objective of the meeting is to obtain consensus from member states and partners represented on the optimal way of interrupting the Ebola virus transmission in West Africa towards reducing the human, social and economic impact of the EVD outbreak in West Africa for the current and future outbreaks.

The meeting would focus on clear understanding of current situation and response, including gaps and challenges; Comprehensive operational response plan for controlling the outbreak; priority preparedness activities to be implemented by countries at risk; and empowering national authorities to optimally respond to EVD outbreak in West Africa.

“The continuous spread of the Ebola virus during this outbreak is in great extent associated with some cultural practices and traditional beliefs, which are contrary to recommended public health preventive measures,” Dr Sambo said.

He said the decision taken at the meeting should facilitate the operations in the affected countries and rapidly interrupt the transmission of the Ebola virus as well as discussing ways of preventing further epidemics as well as the need for to undertake research to address the knowledge gap in relation to the history of the virus.

He tasked the Ministers of Health of the affected countries lead the efforts towards the containment of the outbreaks and leave no stone unturned.

Member states are also to strengthen the International Health Response core capacities namely legislation, coordination and communication, surveillance, response, preparedness, risk communication, human resource capacity, laboratories, entry points, zoonotic event detection, food safety, chemical and radio nuclear events in line with international commitments.

The outgoing Minister of Health, Ms Sherry Ayitteywho opened the meeting, said “at a time when we are seen to winning the fight against infectious diseases in general, those caused by viruses continue to remain a formidable threat and the Ebola virus is no exception”.

“The current Ebola outbreak in West Africa is known to be one of the most challenging WHO and its partners have ever faced,” she noted.

“Today we are here to make a real difference. A difference, that would be felt beyond this room for millions of people in dire need for solutions”, she said and commended the Inter-Country Support Team (IST-Ouagadougou, Ministries of Health of affected countries, Medeccins Sans frontiers, the Emerging and dangerous Pathogens Laboratory Networks among others for the effort.

Ghana Health Service (GHS) Director General, Dr Ebenezer Appiah-Denkyira, called for appropriate strategies that would help nib the epidemic in the bud.

Ebola (formerly known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever) is a severe, often fatal illness, with a death rate of up to 90%. The illness affects humans and nonhuman primates (monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees).

Ebola first appeared in 1976 in two simultaneous outbreaks, one in a village near the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the other in a remote area of Sudan.

The origin of the virus is unknown but fruit bats (Pteropodidae) are considered the likely host of the Ebola virus, based on available evidence.

Ebola is introduced into the human population through close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected animals. In Africa, infection has occurred through the handling of infected chimpanzees, gorillas, fruit bats, monkeys, forest antelope and porcupines found ill or dead or in the rainforest.

(GNA)