The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
After the last Ebola patient was discharged on March 3rd at an Ebola treatment center in Beni, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced today the beginning of a 42-day observation period before it can declare the end of the Ebola outbreak - if there are no new cases diagnosed. WHO and partners have been combating the disease for the last 19 months.
Speaking to the media at the United Nations in Geneva, Dr. Ibrahima-Soce Fall, Assistant Director- General, Emergency Response, World Health Organisation (WHO) said that “this week on Tuesday when the last Ebola patient was discharged from the treatment center in Beni, her name is Masika, she was the last person diagnosed for Ebola on the 17th of February in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Health workers and other responders sacrificed a lot to get to this point”.
Since the beginning of the Ebola outbreak in August 2018, a total of 3,444 Ebola cases were reported from 29 health zones as of 3 March 2020, including 3310 confirmed and 134 probable cases out of which 2264 cases died. Of the total confirmed and probable cases, 56% were female, 28% were children aged less than 18 years, and 5% health care workers.
It is recorded as the second-worst Ebola outbreak in history.
A main barrier to the Ebola response in the Democratic Republic of Congo was, according to Dr. Ibrahima Soce Fall, the ongoing security situation in the country. He said that “since the outbreak started in August 2018, we have recorded overall 1, 700 security incidents and 60 persons are related to war and some kind of criminality in the zone and we have recorded 420 attacks on health care and health personal resulting into 11 deaths and 86 injuries among the health workers and patients”.
Although an important milestone in the outbreak has been reached, there is still a high risk of re-emergence of the Ebola disease, and a critical need to maintain response operations.
WHO’s Emergency Response Director is cautious when saying that “the outbreak is not over as you might be aware. WHO recommends waiting for two full incubation periods, that is 42 days after the last person tested negative a second time before declaring the end of the outbreak”.
He adds that “you must stay in active response mode to get over the finish line. You have to be prepared for other cases emerging, it is a very real risk, you might remember that during the outbreak in West Africa after the declaration of the end of the outbreak you have had some flares in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone”.
Ebola virus may persist in some survivors’ body fluids, with potential to infect others. In at least one instance during this outbreak, relapse was observed, sparking a new chain of transmission which has taken several months to interrupt. At the individual level, people who have recovered from the Ebola virus may develop medical and psychological complications. Ebola survivors should be offered support when they return to their communities in order to care for any post- complications.
“If everything goes right, the official end of the outbreak will be declared on 12th of April. So, we are starting the count-down”, Dr. Ibrahima Soce Fall. “As you know, my main concern is still security, I talked about more than 1,700 security incidents during his outbreak and I have spent close to 10 months there, not in the city but in the villages. Security is a main issue, every day you can see in the news attacks around Beni and the number of civilians killed by the ADF (Allied Democratic Forces) group and also attacks from the Mai Mai group”.
As a lesson learned and a recommendation for possible other outbreaks, Dr. Ibrahima Soce Fall attributes the immediate availability of the Ebola vaccine as a key part to the effective Ebola response in the DRC.
“The outbreak was confirmed on the 1st of August in a very remote area. On the 8th of August, we started vaccination, exactly a week after the declaration of the outbreak including everything we needed in terms of logistics. Remember that the vaccine needs to be kept under minus 80 degrees Celsius. You don’t have those conditions in villages, we have to deploy everything from Geneva and to start vaccinating the week after”.
WHO’s financial need for the Ebola Response for January to June 2020 is US $83 million. WHO now requires US$ 40 million to ensure continuity of activities.
1. Exterior, Palais des Nations
2. SOUNDBITE (English) – Dr. Ibrahima-Soce Fall, Assistant Director- General, Emergency Response, World Health Organisation (WHO): “This week on Tuesday when the last Ebola patient was discharged from the treatment center in Beni, her name is Masiko , she was the last person diagnosed for Ebola on the 17th of February in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Health workers and other responders sacrificed a lot to get to this point”.
3. Medium shot, journalists
4. SOUNDBITE (English) – Dr. Ibrahima-Soce Fall, Assistant Director- General, Emergency Response, World Health Organisation (WHO): “Since the outbreak started in August 2018, we have recorded overall 1, 700 security incidents and 60 persons are related to war and some kind of criminality in the zone and we have recorded 420 attacks on health care and health personal resulting into 11 deaths and 86 injuries among the health workers and patients”.
5. Medium shot, journalists typing
6. SOUNDBITE (English) – Dr. Ibrahima-Soce Fall, Assistant Director- General, Emergency Response, World Health Organisation (WHO): “The outbreak is not over as you might be aware. WHO recommends waiting for two full incubation periods, that is 42 days after the last person tested negative a second time before declaring the end of the outbreak. You must stay in active response mode to get over the finish line. You have to be prepared for other cases emerging, it is a very real risk, you might remember that during the outbreak in West Africa after the declaration of the end of the outbreak you have had some flares in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone”.
7. Two shot, journalists
8. SOUNDBITE (English) – Dr. Ibrahima-Soce Fall, Assistant Director- General, Emergency Response, World Health Organisation (WHO): “If everything goes right, the official end of the outbreak will be declared on 12th of April. So, we are starting the count-down. As you know, my main concern is still security, I talked about more than 1,700 security incidents during his outbreak and I have spent close to 10 months there, not in the city but in the villages. Security is a main issue, every day you can see in the news attacks around Beni and the number of civilians killed by the ADF (Allied Democratic Forces) group and also attacks from the Mai-Mai group”.
9. Medium shot, journalists
10. SOUNDBITE (English) – Dr. Ibrahima-Soce Fall, Assistant Director- General, Emergency Response, World Health Organisation (WHO): “The outbreak was confirmed on the 1st of August in a very remote area. On the 8th of August, we started vaccination, exactly a week after the declaration of the outbreak including everything we needed in terms of logistics. Remember that the vaccine needs to be kept under minus 80 degrees Celsius. You don’t have those conditions in villages, we have to deploy everything from Geneva and to start vaccinating the week after”.
11. Two shot, journalists
12. Medium shot, cameramen
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
“Migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers in Libya are subjected to ruthless and systematic human rights violations and abuses, which include killings, torture, sexual violence and trafficking,” the UN Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan told the bi-weekly press conference in Geneva today.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , IOM
Four years of war in Ukraine: Childhood has ‘moved underground’, displacement continues – UN humanitarians
Civilian suffering shows no sign of letting up in Ukraine as the four-year-mark of Russia’s full-scale invasion nears amid attacks on energy infrastructure, blackouts and freezing temperatures, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office on Friday voiced concerns about the severe impacts on human rights of the socio-economic crisis in Cuba.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
Madagascar: ‘Overwhelming’ destruction, surging needs after back-to-back cyclones – WFP
Some 10 days after tropical cyclone Fytia brought heavy rains and flooding to Madagascar, cyclone Gezani has left the island’s main port in ruins, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN rights chief urges de-escalation in Tigray amid rising tensions and violence.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , WHO , OHCHR
In Sudan, sick and starving children ‘wasting away’ – UN humanitarians
Relentless violence, famine and disease are picking off Sudan’s children while attacks on healthcare and a lack of aid access hamper efforts to help them, UN humanitarian agencies warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Monday gave an update to the Human Rights Council on the situation in El Fasher, Sudan.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
“A series of new Israeli operations and settlement plans in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, risk seriously undermining the viability of a Palestinian state and the realisation of the Palestinians’ right to self-determination,” the UN Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan told the bi-weekly press conference in Geneva today.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNIS
UN voices concern over chemical spraying incident on Lebanon’s Blue Line
The UN reiterated concerns on Friday at reports that Israeli forces sprayed herbicide over areas north of the Blue Line separating Lebanon from Israel. The development poses a “serious humanitarian risk” to civilians living there, said the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), briefing journalists in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Gaza: Five patients evacuated as Rafah reopens while ‘too many stayed behind’ – WHO
As time is running out for thousands of critically ill patients in Gaza, hope is alive for medical evacuations to increase with the reopening of the Rafah crossing in the southern part of the Strip, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNOG , OHCHR
This Sunday marks five years of crisis in Myanmar. Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for the UN Human Rights, and James Rodehaver, chief of the Myanmar team, today spoke on the conduct of recent military-imposed elections, deploring the failure to respect the fundamental human rights of the country’s citizens. The process served only to exacerbate violence and societal polarization.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF
Brutal Gaza war erased years of progress on education, in an “assault on the future itself” – UNICEF
Restoring Gaza’s shattered education system is “lifesaving” and getting children back into schools must be an immediate priority, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.