Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2020/04/news-scan-apr-10-2020
News Scan for Apr 10, 2020
New DRC Ebola case; Three Saudi MERS cases; Polio in 4 nations
Filed Under:
Ebola; VHF; MERS-CoV; Polio
WHO confirms new Ebola case in DRC, prolonging outbreak
Just days before the World Health Organization (WHO) was prepared to declare the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) over, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, said today that officials have confirmed a new case.
"After 52 days without a case, surveillance & response teams on the ground have confirmed a new case. We have been preparing for and expecting more cases," Tedros tweeted.
"Unfortunately, this means the government of DRC will not be able to declare an end to the Ebola outbreak on Monday, as hoped," he added. "But WHO remains on the ground and committed as ever to working with the government, affected communities and our partners to end the outbreak."
The WHO declares an outbreak over when a country goes through 42 days without identifying a new case. Monday would have marked 42 days since the last patient left a treatment center, but now the clock begins anew. The outbreak began in August 2018 and is the world's second-largest ever, behind the 2014-16 outbreak in West Africa.
The new case involves a 26-year-old man in Beni, one of the outbreak's previous hot spots, according to The Hill. The case will bring the DRC outbreak to 3,454 cases, which includes 2,264 deaths.
Apr 10 Tedros Twitter thread
Apr 10 The Hill story
WHO Ebola dashboard
Saudi Arabia reports 3 more MERS cases
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health (MOH) has reported three new MERS-CoV cases, one from late March and two from the first week of April.
The Mar 28 MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) case involves a 47-year-old man from Riyadh whose exposure is listed as primary, meaning he likely didn't contact it from another known patient. The man is not a healthcare worker, and his contact with camels, a known risk factor for MERS-CoV transmission, is unknown.
The other cases, both listed as primary exposures, were reported on Apr 2 and Apr 3. The Apr 2 case involves a 41-year-old man from Dammam who had recent contact with camels, and the Apr 3 case is a 43-year-old man from Abha who had unknown contact with camels. Neither patient is a healthcare worker.
As of Feb 29, the total number of laboratory-confirmed MERS-CoV cases reported to the WHO is 2,538, with 871 deaths. The vast majority of cases and deaths have been in Saudi Arabia.
Mar 28 MOH statement
Apr 3 MOH statement
Pakistan, 3 African countries report more polio cases
Four countries reported new polio cases, including Pakistan, which reported another wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) case, and three African nations that reported more instances of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2), according to the latest weekly update from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI).
Pakistani health officials reported a WPV1 case in Sindh province, raising the number this year to 37.
In Africa, the Central African Republic reported one more cVDPV2 case, its first for 2020, which involves a patient from RS2 province. Burkina Faso reported two more cases, its first of the new year. Both are from Centre-Est region and are linked to Nigeria's Jigawa outbreak. And Ivory Coast reported one more case, its first of the year, which is also linked to the Jigawa outbreak in Nigeria. The patient is from Gbokle-Nawa-San Pedro province.
Apr 9 GPEI update
News Scan for Apr 10, 2020
New DRC Ebola case; Three Saudi MERS cases; Polio in 4 nations
Filed Under:
Ebola; VHF; MERS-CoV; Polio
WHO confirms new Ebola case in DRC, prolonging outbreak
Just days before the World Health Organization (WHO) was prepared to declare the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) over, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, said today that officials have confirmed a new case.
"After 52 days without a case, surveillance & response teams on the ground have confirmed a new case. We have been preparing for and expecting more cases," Tedros tweeted.
"Unfortunately, this means the government of DRC will not be able to declare an end to the Ebola outbreak on Monday, as hoped," he added. "But WHO remains on the ground and committed as ever to working with the government, affected communities and our partners to end the outbreak."
The WHO declares an outbreak over when a country goes through 42 days without identifying a new case. Monday would have marked 42 days since the last patient left a treatment center, but now the clock begins anew. The outbreak began in August 2018 and is the world's second-largest ever, behind the 2014-16 outbreak in West Africa.
The new case involves a 26-year-old man in Beni, one of the outbreak's previous hot spots, according to The Hill. The case will bring the DRC outbreak to 3,454 cases, which includes 2,264 deaths.
Apr 10 Tedros Twitter thread
Apr 10 The Hill story
WHO Ebola dashboard
Saudi Arabia reports 3 more MERS cases
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health (MOH) has reported three new MERS-CoV cases, one from late March and two from the first week of April.
The Mar 28 MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) case involves a 47-year-old man from Riyadh whose exposure is listed as primary, meaning he likely didn't contact it from another known patient. The man is not a healthcare worker, and his contact with camels, a known risk factor for MERS-CoV transmission, is unknown.
The other cases, both listed as primary exposures, were reported on Apr 2 and Apr 3. The Apr 2 case involves a 41-year-old man from Dammam who had recent contact with camels, and the Apr 3 case is a 43-year-old man from Abha who had unknown contact with camels. Neither patient is a healthcare worker.
As of Feb 29, the total number of laboratory-confirmed MERS-CoV cases reported to the WHO is 2,538, with 871 deaths. The vast majority of cases and deaths have been in Saudi Arabia.
Mar 28 MOH statement
Apr 3 MOH statement
Pakistan, 3 African countries report more polio cases
Four countries reported new polio cases, including Pakistan, which reported another wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) case, and three African nations that reported more instances of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2), according to the latest weekly update from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI).
Pakistani health officials reported a WPV1 case in Sindh province, raising the number this year to 37.
In Africa, the Central African Republic reported one more cVDPV2 case, its first for 2020, which involves a patient from RS2 province. Burkina Faso reported two more cases, its first of the new year. Both are from Centre-Est region and are linked to Nigeria's Jigawa outbreak. And Ivory Coast reported one more case, its first of the year, which is also linked to the Jigawa outbreak in Nigeria. The patient is from Gbokle-Nawa-San Pedro province.
Apr 9 GPEI update