The government of the United States of America said everything possible must be done to stop Ebola outbreaks in Guinea and Democratic Republic of Congo before they become large epidemics that may be difficult to control.
In it’s first official statement from the White House on the reemergence of Ebola in the two African countries, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said President Joe Biden has been briefed on the situations in Central and West Africa.
Congo in central Africa on Sunday confirmed four cases since Sept 7 and Guinea in west Africa had seven confirmed cases and three deaths.
On Tuesday, the US National security adviser Jake Sullivan spoke with the ambassadors of Guinea and Congo as well as Guinea neighbors Sierra Leone and Liberia to convey U.S. willingness to help.
The World Health Organization earlier announced that it had confirmed new cases of Ebola in North Kivu Province in the DRC.
The city was an epicenter of the second-largest Ebola outbreak in the world, which was declared over in June.
Meanwhile, the WHO officials said vaccine has been taken to the hard-to-reach city and that the health body is doing everything possible to contain the highly lethal disease before it spreads widely.
Unlike the highly infectious Covid-19 which can be spread by people who don’t have symptoms, Ebola spread mainly through people who are already visibly sick.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the virus spreads through direct contact with the blood or body fluids of people who are sick or who died of the disease.
Ebola has an average case fatality rate of 50%, though it can vary by outbreak.
By Hussein Jama
February 17, 2021
