H5N1

DRC Ebola: Cash flow problems of the response

Via ReliefWeb, the DRC Ministry of Health has published an infographic on the cash flow of the Ebola response in the past month. As this excerpt shows, many operations are running serious shortfalls, including surveillance, medical support, salaries, infection control, and psychosocial care:

Vaccination and communication seem to be adequately funded, but the shortfalls are alarming.

DRC Ebola: 13 new cases, 4 deaths (3 in community), 2 recoveries

The Ministry of Health has published EBOLA DRC - Evolution of the response to the Ebola outbreak in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri to Sunday, June 30, 2019. Excerpt from the Google translation:

EVOLUTION OF THE EBOLA EPIDEMIC  IN THE PROVINCES OF NORTH KIVU AND ITURI 

Sunday, June 30, 2019 

The epidemiological situation of the Ebola Virus Disease  dated 29 June 2019: 

 Since the beginning of the epidemic, the cumulative number of cases is 2,325, of which 2,231 are confirmed and 94 are probable. In total, there were 1,563 deaths (1,469 confirmed and 94 probable) and 644 people healed. 

• 309 suspected cases under investigation; 

• 13 new confirmed cases, including 6 in Beni, 4 in Mabalako, 1 in Masereka, 1 in Butembo and 1 in Lubero; 

• 4 new confirmed case deaths:  

º 3 community deaths in Mabalako; 

º 1 death at the CTE of Beni; 

º 2 people healed out of Butembo CTE.

/! \  The data presented in this table are subject to change later, after extensive investigations and after redistribution of cases and deaths in their health areas.

DRC Ebola: 13 new cases, 78 this week, 2,325 total

The MoH/WHO AFRO Ebola DRC KIVU 2018 Dashboard reports 13 new cases on June 29, making 78 so far this week, 265 in the past 21 days, and 2,325 since the outbreak began. Out of 18,100 contacts, 1,800 are not being traced.

Australia: Why you should still get the flu vaccine

Via The Guardian: 'It isn't too late': why you should still get the flu vaccine. Excerpt:

Australian medical experts say it is still not too late to get the flu vaccine as concerns rise over a death toll attributed to the illness. 

More than 220 Australians have died from the flu this year. On Thursday, Victorian health authorities announced that 43-year-old James Day, from Traralgon, had died after a week in hospital from flu complications.  

In NSW, seven people died in a week, between June 16 and 23. In May, doctors confirmed that 68 people had already died from flu and 40,000 had been infected before winter had begun.

 The number of infections in May was three times higher than it typically is at this time of year. Initial infections began as early as January – at the height of summer – sparking fears of a year-long flu season. Experts are now predicting 4,000 people could die by the end of 2019.  

The safest way to gain protection from the flu is to get vaccinated. Guardian Australia spoke to health experts and NSW Health about common questions around the vaccine.  

Is it too late to get vaccinated? 

“No, not at all,” a NSW Health spokeswoman says. “Getting the flu jab now will reduce your risk of catching the potentially lethal virus by half.”  

“It isn’t too late,” adds Kanta Subbarao, director of the World Health Organisation research centre into influenza in Melbourne.  

“There is a lot of influenza in the community and we really don’t know whether it has peaked yet or how long it will continue. A typical flu season can go into October or September, so it is not too late to get the vaccine.”

Can the flu vaccine make you ill? 

No. Subbaro says this is a common myth and there is “no risk” that it can give you the flu. 

“That is absolutely not true. The vaccine that is administered in Australia is an inactivated virus. The virus is killed before it is administered.  

“The most that you can have is a bit of a sore arm. But you cannot get influenza from the vaccine.  

“Those claims are urban myth,” says NSW Health. “You cannot get sick by getting immunised.” 

How long does it take to activate and how long does it last? 

It will take about two weeks for the vaccine to give you full protection, but after that, it will last the whole flu season. It won’t last longer than a year.  

Is this flu season really worse than usual? 

All indications are that it is. “There was an unprecedented number of summer flu cases, which has so far continued into the winter months,” says NSW Health.

DRC Ebola: Strengthening traditional public health measures will help stop the epidemic (Min Health)

Via 7sur7.cd: DRC-EBOLA: Strengthening traditional public health measures will help stop the epidemic (Min Health). The Google translation:

Following the commitment made by Oly Ilunga at the 72nd World Health Assembly, the Ministry of Health organized an international meeting on immunization as part of the 10th Ebola outbreak in the Republic Democratic Congo. 

This meeting, which was held in Kinshasa on June 28-29, 2019, aimed to gather all the scientific evidence, technical data and other useful information on the different vaccines and vaccine strategies against Ebola to inform the decision-making processes of the Ministry of Health. the health.  

This meeting brought together the developers and manufacturers of the four most advanced experimental vaccines in the fight against Ebola namely Merck & Co. Janssen (Johnson & Johnson). CanSino Biologics Inc (China) and Rospotrebnadzor (Russia). 

Also participating were the national and international experts from WHO, INSERM, CDC USA, Epicenter. CEPI, LSHTM, BARDA, NIH. World Bank. USAID, DFID, UNICEF, IFRC. WFP.  

"It should be remembered that vaccination alone can not stop the current epidemic, and all participants agree that it is the strengthening of traditional public health measures that will break the chains of transmission and stop the epidemic," said the Ministry of Health.  

In addition, the Ministry said that vaccination is one of the main pillars of the response and the vaccine rVSV-ZEBOV-GP Merck, used since August 8, 2018 remains the best option available.

DRC Ebola: 15 new cases, 6 deaths (2 in community), 1 recovery

The Ministry of Health has published EBOLA DRC - Evolution of the response to the Ebola outbreak in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri on Saturday, June 29, 2019. Excerpt from the Google translation:

EVOLUTION OF THE EBOLA EPIDEMIC  IN THE PROVINCES OF NORTH KIVU AND ITURI 

Saturday, June 29, 2019 

The epidemiological situation of the Ebola Virus Disease  dated June 28, 2019: 

• Since the beginning of the epidemic, the cumulative number of cases is 2,312, of which 2,218 are confirmed and 94 are probable. In total, there were 1,559 deaths (1,465 confirmed and 94 probable) and 642 people healed. 

• 360 suspected cases under investigation; 

• 15 new confirmed cases, including 6 in Beni, 4 in Mabalako, 3 in Masereka, 1 in Butembo and 1 in Lubero; 

º 5/6 cases of Beni are part of the same family. She is a mother who fled with her children to Ariwara Health Zone in Ituri. They were all found and transferred to the CTE of Bunia. 

• 6 new confirmed case deaths:  

º 2 community deaths, including 1 in Mabalako and 1 in Lubero; 

º 4 deaths in CTEs, including 3 in Mabalako and 1 in Beni; 

• 1 person cured out of Butembo CTE. 

/! \  The data presented in this table are subject to change later, after extensive investigations and after redistribution of cases and deaths in their health areas. 

NEWS   

Closing of the International Meeting on Immunization in the EVD Epidemic in North Kivu and Ituri 

Following the commitment made by His Excellency the Minister of Health, Dr. Oly ILUNGA Kalenga, at the 72nd  World Health Assembly, the Ministry of Health organized an international meeting on vaccination within the 10th  epidemic outbreak of Ebola virus raging in the Democratic Republic of Congo since 1st  August 2018 in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri. 

• This meeting, held in Kinshasa on June 28-29, 2019, aimed to gather all the scientific evidence, technical data and other useful information on the different vaccines and vaccine strategies against Ebola to inform the decision-making processes of the Ministry. of Health. 

• This meeting brought together the developers and manufacturers of the four most advanced experimental vaccines in the fight against Ebola, namely Merck & Co, Janssen (Johnson & Johnson), CanSino Biologics Inc. (China) and Rospotrebnadzor (Russia), as well as national and international experts: WHO, INSERM, CDC USA, Epicenter, CEPI, LSHTM, BARDA, NIH, World Bank, USAID, DFID, UNICEF, IFRC, WFP.  

• It should be remembered that vaccination alone can not stop the ongoing epidemic. All participants agreed that strengthening traditional public health measures will break the chains of transmission and halt the epidemic. Vaccination is one of the main pillars of the response and the rVSV-ZEBOV-GP vaccine from Merck, used since August 8, 2018, remains the best available option to date.  

• Recognizing that Ebola is an emerging disease and in order to help advance science, the Ministry of Health is open to the option of starting new clinical trials with one or more of these on the sidelines of the current epidemic. other experimental Ebola vaccines, outside the affected provinces. The Democratic Republic of Congo has a great contribution to make to universal knowledge about Ebola and the country is determined to do so in an active way.    

• Since the use of vaccines will be scientifically based, the proposals that will be made will be scientifically and epidemiologically justified and will require the required approvals from the relevant regulatory and ethical authorities. 

Sensitization 

Mbusa Nyamisi, president of the RCD / KML, was vaccinated against Ebola this Saturday, June 29, 2019 during his visit to the CTE Butembo / Itav. As an influential North Kivu politician, Mbusa Nyamisi made the move to the press to reassure the public about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine. He also condemned attacks on operations and agents of the response.    Nothing to report 

FIGURES OF THE RESPONSE  

145,445 vaccinated persons 

• The only vaccine to be used in this outbreak is the rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine, manufactured by the pharmaceutical group Merck, following approval by the Ethics Committee in its decision of 19 May 2018. 

Health checkpoints

70,177,098 people under control 

• 80 entry points (PoE) and operational health checkpoints (PoC). 

Infected healthcare workers

126 contaminated health workers 

• One Mabalako health worker, vaccinated, is one of the new confirmed cases. 

• The cumulative number of confirmed / probable cases among health workers is 126 (5% of all confirmed / probable cases) including 40 deaths.

Canada: 'Disheartening' having to issue HIV outbreak warning in Thunder Bay, medical officer of health says

Via CBC News: 'Disheartening' having to issue HIV outbreak warning in Thunder Bay, medical officer of health says. Excerpt:

The medical officer of health for the Thunder Bay District Health Unit says it's "disheartening" that public health officials had to declare an outbreak of HIV in the population of the northwestern Ontario city who are homeless or lack stable housing. 

Eight new cases of HIV have been confirmed since January 1 and another two are under investigation, the health unit said, with a spike in May and June, which prompted the outbreak warning. Dr. Janet DeMille said that spike includes seven cases which were either confirmed or are being investigated. 

"It is quite concerning, very much so, and quite disheartening," DeMille said. "We have been aware that we had ... enough risk in the population that this could happen but we were, we actually had very low rates which was very good." 

The health unit said HIV is most commonly spread through sharing needles for injection drug use and unprotected sexual activity. 

"We knew that this could happen and we've been doing more work related to HIV, including increasing testing so we would pick up something like this early," DeMille said. "But it is actually quite disheartening that it's come to the point that it's an actual outbreak." 

People on the street also deal with "many other issues and many other burdens," DeMille said, including a declared outbreak in the population of tuberculosis in 2018.

The risk has always been there, DeMille said, adding that there have been HIV outbreaks declared in other cities in Ontario — DeMille cited London as an example — as well as a number of communities in Canada and the U.S.  

"We've just had more spreading of the virus among people and we reached a certain ... threshold of numbers, number of cases where we've seen, what we call more transmission or spread from person to person," she said. "We knew that this could happen."

MSF: Urgent humanitarian response needed to unprecedented crises in northeast DR Congo

MSF.org has published Urgent humanitarian response needed to unprecedented crises in northeast Democratic Republic of Congo.

KISANGANI/GENEVA – Multiple humanitarian crises are unfolding in Ituri province, northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and hundreds of thousands of people are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, according to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). 

The recent upsurge in violence across the regions of Djugu, Mahagi and Irumu have forced thousands to flee their homes. Despite MSF’s repeated calls on international aid organisations to scale up humanitarian aid, the majority of the displaced still haven’t received even the most basic assistance.

“Unfortunately, this is not the first time there are important humanitarian needs in the country,” explains Dr Moussa Ousman, MSF Head of Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo. “This time we are seeing not only mass displacement due to violence but also a rapidly spreading measles outbreak and an Ebola epidemic that shows no signs of slowing down, all at the same time. This is unprecedented.”

Intercommunal violence has been increasing in Ituri since December 2017, and the large majority of people displaced as a result have been in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, some for more than a year. Since October 2018, MSF has conducted three mortality surveys in the locations of Drodro, Nizi and Angumu. All showed that the mortality rates in these communities were far above emergency levels. 

“Our surveys show that people are mainly dying from preventable diseases such as malaria, measles and diarrhoea,” says Dr Ousman. “That is very worrying. Especially as it has not yet been possible to vaccinate against measles because of the ongoing Ebola outbreak, and the fear of Ebola further spreading. Together with the ministry of health, we are looking at what innovative strategies we can implement given the circumstances, but more help is urgently needed here to prevent more deaths.”

MSF is supporting the local ministry of health to provide medical care and respond to the most acute needs of the displaced in Drodro, Nizi and Bunia. Our teams are also providing clean water, distributing relief items and constructing showers and latrines. Nevertheless, the most urgent needs of thousands of families remain unmet. 

MSF urges for an immediate scale up of long-term humanitarian assistance, to prevent the loss of more lives and to ensure decent living conditions for all those who have been forced to flee.

DRC Ebola: After getting vaccinated, Mbusa Nyamwisi visited patients in CTE care in Butembo

Via Actualite.cd: DRC-Ebola: After getting vaccinated, Mbusa Nyamwisi visited patients in CTE care in Butembo. Mbusa Nyamwisi has a turbulent political background. The Google translation:

In Butembo (North Kivu), Antipas Mbusa Nyamwisi was vaccinated this Saturday, June 29, 2019 against Ebola. This was at the Ebola Treatment Center (ETC) in the concession of the Institute of Agricultural and Veterinary Techniques (ITAV), Lumumba neighborhood, in Kimemi commune.

At the same time, the leader of the RCD / KML visited the patients treated in the CTE. He positively appreciated the mechanisms put in place by the health authorities and their partners to fight back against the disease.  

"I think what is done is good because it allows people to recover their health. I have just taken a photo with a lady coming out of this center today, it is very good news. It is very encouraging, we must congratulate these staff who are there every day at their own risk, and who unfortunately also suffer the pressures, attacks of people without faith or law that must be completely discouraged and denounced in case we would find them organizing in one corner or another," said Mbusa Nyamwisi. 

He appealed to residents of Butembo and the entire region to scrupulously observe the protocol established by the health authorities to eradicate Ebola.  

"There is no other way to go beyond this protocol, which is provided for this purpose. There are diseases like the plague that decimated entire populations centuries ago before the antidote was found for it. We have it for Ebola it's a chance for us. We must discourage all those people who dare to say things they do not know the ins and the outs. There is only one way to do it, you have to follow this protocol, get vaccinated, see if there are people who are at risk and bring them here [to the Ebola treatment center], encourage them so finally we can turn the page on Ebola," said the president of the RCD / KML. 

This epidemic is the 10th in the history of the DRC after the one completely controlled in June 2018 in the province of Equateur (West). In North Kivu and Ituri, the epidemic has already claimed more than 1,300 lives.

DRC Ebola: 15 new cases, 65 this week, 2,312 total

The MoH/WHO AFRO Ebola DRC KIVU 2018 Dashboard reports 15 new cases on June 28, making a total of 65 this week so far, 258 in the past 21 days, and 2,312 since the outbreak began. Out of 18,100 contacts, 1,900 are going untraced.

The outbreak really began, of course, sometime in the spring of 2018; it was officially declared on August 1. We're now just over a month away from the anniversary of that declaration, and no end in sight.