Tengrinews.kz — The Director-General of the World Health Organization has declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) due to an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. We investigated the significance of this status, the reasons for its implementation, and the required response from Kazakhstan.
The outbreak was caused by a rare strain of the Ebola virus, Bundibugyo, for which there is currently no registered vaccine or specific treatment available worldwide.
The press service of the Ministry of Health's National Center for Public Health explained that a Public Health Emergency of International Concern is the highest level of alert the WHO can declare under International Health Regulations.
"An emergency is not a declaration of a pandemic, nor is it a signal to panic. It is an official international notification that an outbreak has spread beyond a single country or carries a high risk of such spread," the center stated.
Specialists explained that in this instance, the situation demands an immediate, coordinated global response, and member states of the WHO International Health Regulations must implement preparedness measures.
Experts note that the outbreak does not currently affect Kazakhstan directly. However, the risk of the infection being imported remains due to international air travel and the movement of people between countries.
"In light of this, our state, like other WHO member states, must strengthen epidemiological control, particularly at border crossings and in infectious disease hospitals," the report states.
According to the center, the risk to Kazakhstan's population is currently assessed as low. Ebola is significantly more difficult to transmit than, for example, COVID-19. Infection typically requires close contact with the blood or other bodily fluids of an infected person.
What happens following an international alert
Following the declaration of a public health emergency, the WHO receives expanded powers for international response. The organization can:
- issue mandatory temporary recommendations for all member states;
- coordinate the supply of laboratory equipment, personal protective equipment, and diagnostic tests to the outbreak zone;
- deploy international teams of epidemiologists and medical specialists to the source of the disease;
- accelerate the development and access to vaccines and medications under emergency use mechanisms;
- require countries to share data regularly on cases and measures taken.
How other countries should respond
Experts note that all states party to the International Health Regulations (IHR) are obliged to comply with WHO recommendations.
- strengthen sanitary and quarantine control at airports and border crossings to identify passengers with symptoms arriving from outbreak zones;
- inform medical workers about Ebola symptoms and protocols for action in cases of suspected infection;
- ensure laboratory readiness for Ebola virus testing;
- prepare or update emergency response plans for potential imported cases;
- regularly transmit information to the WHO through national IHR focal points.
At the same time, the WHO does not recommend completely closing borders or halting air travel unless absolutely necessary.
What is known about the outbreak
As of publication, global media reports indicate that the death toll from the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has exceeded 100 people, with over 500 suspected cases recorded.
In the Ugandan capital of Kampala, two cases were confirmed in individuals arriving from the Congo, the National Center for Public Health press service noted.
As a reminder, back in January, the WHO dispatched specialists to Uganda to assist in the fight against the new Ebola outbreak. In February, the organization announced the start of the first vaccine trials against the virus in the country. At the end of April, Uganda's Ministry of Health announced the end of the previous outbreak.
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