Ebola spread prompts call for coordinated African response
Health experts are calling for a coordinated pan-African response to the spread of the Bundibugyo Ebola virus, which has reached Kenya and Nigeria. The virus, which has caused thousands of deaths in the DRC, currently lacks an approved vaccine or treatment.
Why it matters
The cross-border spread of a rare, lethal virus poses a significant public health threat that requires regional political and medical cooperation.
[NAIROBI, SciDev.Net] African health experts have called for an immediate and coordinated response from pan-African authorities after new cases of the Bundibugyo Ebola virus emerged in Kenya and Nigeria.
The rare Bundibugyo virus, for which there is no approved vaccine or drug, has led to more than 4,600 deaths and 9,552 confirmed infections in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since an outbreak was first declared on 15 May.
A total of four African countries have now been affected by the virus, with Uganda ending an outbreak in August that caused 20 infections and two deaths. France also contained one imported case from the DRC in June.
Kenya confirmed its ninth Ebola case last week sending alarm bells across the country’s public health, economic and social sectors, while Nigeria confirmed one case.
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