ADDIS ABABA, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has expressed support for the immediate implementation of the decisions by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to control the expanding Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak.
The African Union's specialized continental public health agency, in a statement issued on Monday, commended the DRC's health authorities for advancing a comprehensive package of "bold and innovative measures" to contain the outbreak. It said this national ownership provides the authority, speed, and accountability required to deliver an emergency response at scale.
The response measures, among other things, include large-scale vaccination and a village-centered response to identify every suspected case and death, and ensure that protection, care, and reliable information reach every community.
The Africa CDC highlighted the outbreak's expanding scale and speed of transmission. Since the DRC declared its 17th Ebola outbreak on May 15, the Central African country has recorded a total of 4,120 confirmed cases and 1,887 deaths, representing a case fatality rate of about 45.8 percent, according to the latest data from the Africa CDC.
The agency also highlighted the outbreak's rapid geographic spread, which has expanded from 11 health zones in one province on May 15 to 53 health zones across the DRC's five provinces. Noting that transmission is outpacing conventional operations, the Africa CDC indicated that only about 10 percent of expected contacts have been listed, while roughly four in five new infections are occurring outside known transmission chains.
The comprehensive response package by the DRC government and its partners also encompasses strengthening the management of humanitarian issues, including the safe reopening of schools, as well as strong coordination and end-to-end financial accountability, it was noted.
Highlighting the current emergency context of "a rapidly escalating" Bundibugyo outbreak, the agency stressed that the strategic use of the existing Ervebo vaccine -- because of its potential cross-protection -- is the only vaccination strategy currently available, which must be deployed rapidly and at a larger scale to reduce severe disease and deaths.
"This recommendation is driven by the urgency of the outbreak, the growing, though not yet conclusive, body of evidence for cross-protection, and Ervebo's established safety profile and availability," it said. ■
