By Monica Kayombo/Zambia, Lusaka,
AFRICA Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has urged Saudi Arabia to review travel restrictions imposed on Kenya following Ebola cases, warning against measures that punish countries for reporting outbreaks transparently.
Speaking during a media briefing, Africa CDC Continental Incident Management Support Team Lead Dr Wesam Mankoula said countries should focus on containing the virus rather than isolating affected nations.
“Countries shouldn’t be punished for transparency. Let us focus on isolating the virus, not isolating countries,” he said.
Dr Mankoula said the outbreak had recorded 10,699 confirmed cases and 5,202 deaths, representing a case fatality rate of about 48.6 per cent, with approximately 2,900 recoveries across five countries: the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria and France.
The DRC remains the epicentre, accounting for 10,668 cases and 5,198 deaths.
Kenya has recorded nine cases, including two deaths, while Nigeria and France have each reported one imported case.
Uganda has recorded 20 cases.
Dr Mankoula commended Kenya’s response, citing early detection, contact tracing, quarantine and treatment capacity.
He said travel measures should instead be guided by individual risk assessments and public health evidence.
He warned, however, that the response in the DRC continued to face serious surveillance and contact-tracing gaps.
More than 85 per cent of cases were reportedly emerging from outside known contact lists, while only about 11 per cent of confirmed cases had been linked to known contacts, against a target of at least 95 per cent.
The outbreak has spread across 67 health zones in eight provinces, with 51 still reporting cases in the three weeks preceding the briefing.
Health workers have also been heavily affected, with 427 infections and 67 deaths reported.
On preparedness, Dr Mankoula said 31 African countries had responded to a joint Africa CDC and World Health Organisation assessment. Only three were rated as having adequate preparedness capacity, while 17 had moderate capacity and 11 had limited capacity.
He identified infection prevention and control, case management and logistics as key areas requiring improvement.
Africa CDC also called on partners to accelerate funding for the response, saying pledged resources needed to be translated into actual disbursements to strengthen outbreak control and preparedness.
