The devastating Ebola outbreak is no longer a threat to West Africa only but an international health emergency that poses risks to other countries, the World Health Organization declared Friday.
After two days of meetings, an emergency committee concluded that the unprecedented outbreak is an “extraordinary event” that meets the criteria for a “public health emergency of international concern,” WHO director-general Dr. Margaret Chan said during a virtual press conference from Geneva.
“This is the largest, most severe and most complex outbreak in the nearly four-decade history of this disease,” Chan said.
The declaration “alerts the world to the need for high vigilance for possible cases of Ebola virus disease but by no means implies that all countries, or even many countries will see Ebola cases,” Chan said, adding that only a small part of the African continent is currently affected.
However, it is a “clear call for international solidarity,” she said.
Affected countries “simply don’t have the capacity to manage the outbreak on their own.”
Chan issued a list of temporary measures aimed at containing existing outbreaks and preventing further international spread. Most of them are aimed at the hardest hit countries — Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, as well as “hotspot” where the three countries come together.
Director General of the World Health Organization, China’s Margaret Chan informs to the media after an emergency meeting on Ebola during a press conference at the headquarters of the WHO in Geneva, Switzerland, on Friday, Aug. 8, 2014. (AP Photo/Keystone, Salvatore Di Nolfi)
WHO says the movement of people in and out of those areas should be reduced, using military if warranted, and that quarantine measures be implemented when necessary.
Affected countries should do “exit screenings” of all travellers at international airports, seaports and major land crossings to check for fever and other possible symptoms of infection.
The world body is not recommending a general ban on international travel or trade, except for people infected with Ebola and their close contacts.
Unaffected countries should be prepared to “detect, investigate and manage” potential cases, and help evacuate and repatriate nationals (such as health workers) who have been exposed to Ebola, WHO said.
The Public Health Agency of Canada is already warning Canadians to avoid all nonessential travel to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Civil unrest in Western Africa in recent years has left the health systems in Ebola stricken nations weakened and fragile, said WHO assistant director-general Dr. Keiji Fukuda.
There are a shortage of health workers and critical supplies, including personal protective gear and basic needs like running water and reliable electricity. Doctors Without Borders, one of the critical aid organizations on the ground, warned this week that the epidemic is “out of control” and that it has reached its limits of what its teams can do.
Fukuda said fear, misinformation and suspicion are fuelling Ebola’s spread. Villagers are hiding the infected rather than allow the sick to be sent to health facilities and special isolation units for treatment.
The fear is now spreading to other countries, he said. “I think the level of anxiety is definitely high out there.”
But Ebola can be contained, he said. “This is something that can be stopped.”
The virus, which is killing, on average, about 60 per cent of those it infects, is transmitted via direct contact with blood and other bodily fluids.
As of Aug. 4, countries have reported 1,711 cases, including 932 deaths, making it the largest Ebola outbreak ever recorded.
To minimize the risk of international spread, WHO said confirmed cases should immediately be isolated with no national or international travel until two blood tests conducted at least 48 hours apart are negative. Contacts should be monitored daily, with no international travel until 21 days after exposure.
skirkey@postmedia.com
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