WHO Officials Discuss Ebola’s Continued Spread In DRC; Other Experts Call On U.S. To Provide Specialists To Region

Al Jazeera: Q&A: Conflict, resistance hampering WHO’s Ebola efforts in DRC
“…Al Jazeera spoke to Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, regional director of WHO Africa, about the spread of the outbreak [in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)], lessons learned from the earlier outbreaks, and what the future holds for health issues in Africa…” (Ghani, 12/2).

Associated Press: U.S. urged to send Ebola experts in as Congo outbreak worsens
“Global health experts are urging the Trump administration to allow U.S. government disease specialists — ‘some of the world’s most experienced’ — to return to northeastern Congo to help fight the second-largest Ebola outbreak in history. The U.S. experts have been sidelined for weeks, ordered away from the region because of State Department security concerns. Two top medical journals [last week] published commentaries calling on the U.S. to change its mind and send them back where they are sorely needed…” (Anna, 11/30).

STAT: As Ebola outbreak spreads in Congo, concern grows over supplies of experimental vaccine
“The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo appears to be spreading southward from its current epicenter at Beni, raising concerns it will take root in some larger population centers, including a major regional hub, warned a senior World Health Organization official. Should the outbreak spread more widely in cities … the scale of the outbreak could tax the available supplies of an experimental vaccine being used to help contain spread, said Dr. Peter Salama, who heads the WHO’s emergencies program…” (Branswell, 12/3).

Vox: Why the Ebola outbreak in DRC is so difficult to contain
“…To unpack how the outbreak got so bad, and what the WHO needs right now, I sat down with Peter Salama, the head of the new Health Emergencies Program at the WHO. His team was created in 2016 as a direct response to the WHO’s fumbling of the West Africa Ebola outbreak. This year alone, he’s helped the organization respond to 50 health emergencies in 47 countries…” (Belluz, 12/2).

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