The World Health Organisation (WHO) has issued 10 guidelines on how the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda can prevent Ebola outbreak.
Last week, three members of the same family died of Ebola in Kasese District, shortly after crossing over from the DRC. Five other cases are under isolation.
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According to WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic, the two countries were commended for their effort and collaboration in the fight against Ebola.
“The Committee wishes to commend the heroic work of all responders, who continue to work under extremely challenging and stressful conditions,” he said, during a meeting convened by WHO to issue out the guidelines on how to prevent further outbreak.
These include:
1. At-risk countries should improve their preparedness for detecting and managing exported cases, as Uganda has done.
2. Cross-border screening in DRC should continue and its quality improved and sustained.
3. Continue to map population movements and sociological patterns that can predict the risk of disease spread.
4. All priority countries should put in place approvals for investigational medicines and vaccines as an immediate priority for preparedness.
5. Optimal vaccine strategies that have maximum impact on curtailing the outbreak, as recommended by WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE), should be implemented rapidly.
6. The international community must step up funding and support strengthening of preparedness and response in DRC and neighbouring countries.
7. Continue to strengthen community awareness, engagement, and participation. There has been a great deal of progress in community engagement activities. However, in border communities, where mobility is especially likely, community engagement needs to be more sharply targeted to identify the populations most at risk.
8. The implementation by the UN and partners of more coordinated measures to reduce security threats, mitigate security risks, and create an enabling environment for public health operations is welcomed and encouraged by the Committee as an essential platform for accelerating disease-control efforts.
9. The Committee strongly emphasizes its previous advice against the application of any international travel or trade restrictions.
10. The Committee does not consider entry screening at airports or other ports of entry to be necessary.
