H5N1

DRC Ebola: CMRE update, November 19

CMRE has published Situation épidémiologique du 19 novembre 2019. Excerpt from the Google translation:

EVOLUTION OF THE EPIDEMIC IN THE PROVINCES OF NORTH KIVU AND ITURI AS AT 18 NOVEMBER 2019   

Tuesday, November 19, 2019  

Since the beginning of the epidemic, the cumulative number of cases is 3,296, of which 3,178 are confirmed and 118 are probable. In total, there were 2,197 deaths (2079 confirmed and 118 probable) and 1074 people healed. 

• 544 suspected cases under investigation; • No new confirmed cases; 

• 1 new death of confirmed cases, including: 

o No new community deaths have been recorded; 

o 1 new death of confirmed case in the CTE in North Kivu in Beni; 

• 4 people healed from CTE in North Kivu in Mabalako;  

• No health worker is among the new confirmed cases. The cumulative number of confirmed / probable cases among health workers is 163 (5% of all confirmed / probable cases), including 41 deaths;

 

The data presented in this table are subject to change after extensive investigation and after redistribution of cases and deaths in their respective health areas.

NEWS  

Closing in Goma of the leadership capacity building workshop for the actors involved in the epidemic response to #Ebola Virus Disease

• The general coordinator of the epidemic response to #Ebola Virus Disease in the provinces of North, South Kivu and Ituri, Prof. Steve Ahuka Mundeke closed a workshop in Goma on Tuesday 19 November 2019 on capacity building for the actors involved in this response; 

• The teacher, Ahuka Mundeke, said that this workshop was more beneficial to participants who are expected to use all the concepts learned to improve the work of the response and their personal lives. "Now that we know the types of leadership, when to apply them, to be leaders to oneself, to manage oneself and others," he said; 

• These notions, he said, are very important for crisis management. To this end, he asked the participants in this workshop to use these learned concepts, because, he insisted, knowledge is only useful when it is used; 

• He took the opportunity to thank not only all the participants for their attendance, but also all the partners who contributed to the success of this training, in particular WHO, CDC, DFID and Ukaid, not to mention the trainers who attended. moved from Geneva to Goma to equip the Ebola response team of the Ministry of Health and WHO with the Ebola response to the epidemic; 

• For WHO, this workshop is productive for all the response teams who will be able to use it all their lives; 

• This training ended with the delivery of the certificate and as "To the Lord all honor", the first certificate was given to the general coordinator of the response, the Prof. Steve Ahuka Mundeke. 

VACCINATION  

• 243 people were vaccinated with the 2nd Ad26.ZEBOV / MVA-BN-Filo vaccine (Johnson & Johnson) in the two health zones of Karisimbi in Goma; 

• Since the start of vaccination on August 8, 2018 with the rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine,   254,151 people have been vaccinated; 

• Approved October 22, 2019 by the Ethics Committee of the School of Public Health of the University of Kinshasa and October 23, 2019 by the National Ethics Committee, the second vaccine, called Ad26.ZEBOV / MVA-BN -Filo, is produced by Janssen Pharmaceuticals for Johnson & Johnson; 

• This new vaccine complements the first, the rVSV-ZEBOV, vaccine used until then (since August 08, 2018) in this epidemic manufactured by the pharmaceutical group Merck, after approval of the Ethics Committee on May 20, 2018. It has recently been approved. 

MONITORING AT ENTRY POINTS  

• Since the beginning of the epidemic, the total number of travelers checked (temperature rise) at the sanitary control points is 118,357,153 ;  

• To date, a total of 109 entry points (PoE) and sanitary control points (PoCs) have been set up in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri to protect the country's major cities and prevent the spread of the epidemic in neighboring countries.

Give migrants flu vaccine to tackle US detention 'emergency', doctors say

Every time you think Trump's America can't get any worse, it gets worse. Via The Guardian: Give migrants flu vaccine to tackle US detention 'emergency', doctors say. Excerpt:

Doctors are asking officials in the US health and immigration departments to provide flu vaccines to migrants in detention, warning of an “emergency which threatens the safety of human lives, particularly of children”, in a letter made public on Tuesday.  

The warning comes after three children died in the custody of US immigration due to complications from the flu in the 2018-2019 flu season – which the doctors said is nine times the rate seen in the general child population. At 21 weeks, the 2018-2019 flu season was the longest in a decade. 

The doctors asked the US government to allow flu vaccinations in all detention centers, but specifically asked to be allowed into a facility in San Ysidro, California, just across the border from Tijuana, Mexico, to provide 100 vaccines at no cost. They said that would serve as a pilot program to expand vaccinations using a network of doctors throughout US states with detention centers. 

The doctors wrote the flu risk was especially high in crowded environments such as detention centers. “Those within high concentration environments such as detention centers, regardless of the duration they are expected to remain, are by definition a vulnerable population, both to become infected and to experience life-threatening complications,” the letter said. 

Flu season has begun in many parts of the country and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends all people older than six months be vaccinated this flu season. The agency also requires immigrants to the US to receive a flu vaccination. 

Without the vaccinations, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) employees and people who live near the facilities are also at increased risk of the flu, the doctors warned.  

The letter was originally sent to the then acting secretary of homeland security, Kevin McAleenan, and the health secretary, Alex Azar, in early November. 

CBP did not respond to a request for comment.

DRC Ebola: CMRE update, November 18

CMRE has published Situation épidémiologique du 18 novembre 2019. Excerpt from the Google translation:

EVOLUTION OF THE EPIDEMIC IN THE PROVINCES OF NORTH KIVU AND ITURI AS AT NOVEMBER 17, 2019   

Monday, November 18, 2019   

• Since the beginning of the epidemic, the cumulative number of cases is 3,296, of which 3,178 are confirmed and 118 are probable. In total, there were 2,196 deaths (2078 confirmed and 118 probable) and 1070 people healed. 

• 407 suspected cases under investigation; 

• 4 new confirmed cases in North Kivu, including 2 in Mabalako, 1 in Beni and 1 in Oicha; 

• 1 new death of confirmed cases, including: 

o 1 new community death in North Kivu at Oicha; 

o No new deaths among confirmed cases in CTEs;  

• No cured person has emerged from CTEs;  

• No health worker is among the new confirmed cases. The cumulative number of confirmed / probable cases among health workers is 163 (5% of all confirmed / probable cases), including 41 deaths;

 

The data presented in this table are subject to change after extensive investigation and after redistribution of cases and deaths in their respective health areas.

NEWS  

NOTHING TO REPORT  

VACCINATION  

• 147 people were vaccinated, until Saturday, November 16, 2019, with the 2nd Ad26.ZEBOV / MVA-BN-Filo vaccine (Johnson & Johnson) in the two health zones of Karisimbi in Goma;  

• Since the start of vaccination on August 8, 2018 with the rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine, 253,545 people have been vaccinated; 

• Approved October 22, 2019 by the Ethics Committee of the School of Public Health of the University of Kinshasa and October 23, 2019 by the National Ethics Committee, the second vaccine, called Ad26.ZEBOV / MVA-BN -Filo, is produced by Janssen Pharmaceuticals for Johnson & Johnson;  

• This new vaccine complements the first, the rVSV-ZEBOV, vaccine used until then (since August 08, 2018) in this epidemic manufactured by the pharmaceutical group Merck, after approval of the Ethics Committee on May 20, 2018. It has recently been approved. 

MONITORING AT ENTRY POINTS  

• New positive case among Mukulya Checkpoint alerts in Beni, North Kivu. It is a lifeless body of a 35-year-old man from Oicha for burial at Kabasha in Butembo; 

• Since the beginning of the epidemic, the total number of travelers checked (temperature rise) at the sanitary control points is 117,987,763 ; 

• To date, a total of 112 entry points (PoE) and sanitary control points (PoCs) have been set up in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri to protect the country's major cities and prevent the spread of the epidemic in neighboring countries.

Samoa closes schools as measles epidemic kills at least 6

Via The New York Times: Samoa Closes Schools as Measles Epidemic Kills at Least 6. Excerpt:

Schools in the Pacific island nation of Samoa were closed indefinitely on Monday and children have been barred from public gatherings amid a measles epidemic that has killed at least six people, most of them younger than age 2.  

As Samoa, a country of about 200,000 people that is part of the same island chain as American Samoa, declared an emergency last week, health officials said they were “anticipating the worst to come.” 

At least 716 potential cases of measles have been recorded, and almost 100 people have been hospitalized. Among those killed were three siblings from one family, according to the New Zealand broadcast channel 1News.  

But the number of cases and deaths is most likely higher, experts said, calling the Samoan government’s response to the epidemic delayed.

“It’s as bad as you’re seeing and probably worse,” said Dr. Helen Petousis-Harris, a vaccinologist at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. “This is very much out of control.”  

Government officials did not respond immediately to requests for comment.  

The epidemic has come as the immunization rate against measles has plummeted in Samoa in the years since a medical mistake led to the deaths of two infants and spurred widespread mistrust of vaccinations. In those cases, nurses mistakenly administered a vaccine mixed with an anaesthetic.

The immunization rate dropped to as low as 30 percent last year from about 60 percent in 2016, according to figures from the World Health Organization. By contrast, in Fiji, Tonga and American Samoa, where outbreaks have also been reported, about 90 percent of children have been immunized. 

On Friday, the Samoan government declared that measles vaccinations would be mandatory, and that children under 17 barred from public gatherings and medical facilities unless sick. The National University of Samoa said that it had closed its campuses and would delay scheduled exams until further notice.

DRC Ebola: CMRE update, November 17

CMRE has published Situation épidémiologique du 17 novembre 2019, and reports another zero-case day. Excerpt from the Google translation:

EVOLUTION OF THE EPIDEMIC IN THE PROVINCES OF NORTH KIVU AND ITURI AS AT 16 NOVEMBER 2019   

Sunday, November 17, 2019   

• Since the beginning of the epidemic, the cumulative number of cases is 3,292, of which 3,174 are confirmed and 118 are probable. In total, there were 2,195 deaths (2077 confirmed and 118 probable) and 1070 people healed. 

• 422 suspected cases under investigation; 

• No new confirmed cases; • No new deaths of confirmed cases have been recorded; 

• No cured person has emerged from CTEs;  

• No health worker is among the new confirmed cases. The cumulative number of confirmed / probable cases among health workers is 163 (5% of all confirmed / probable cases), including 41 deaths;

 

The data presented in this table are subject to change after extensive investigation and after redistribution of cases and deaths in their respective health areas. 

NEWS  

NOTHING TO REPORT  

VACCINATION  

• 147 people were vaccinated with the 2nd Ad26.ZEBOV / MVA-BN-Filo vaccine (Johnson & Johnson) in the two health zones of Karisimbi in Goma; 

• Since the start of vaccination on August 8, 2018 with the rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine, 253,234 people have been vaccinated;  

• Approved October 22, 2019 by the Ethics Committee of the School of Public Health of the University of Kinshasa and October 23, 2019 by the National Ethics Committee, the second vaccine, called Ad26.ZEBOV / MVA-BN -Filo, is produced by Janssen Pharmaceuticals for Johnson & Johnson;  

• This new vaccine complements the first, the rVSV-ZEBOV, vaccine used until then (since August 08, 2018) in this epidemic manufactured by the pharmaceutical group Merck, after approval of the Ethics Committee on May 20, 2018. It has recently been approved.   

MONITORING AT ENTRY POINTS  

• Since the beginning of the epidemic, the total number of travelers checked (temperature measurement ) at the sanitary control points is 117,653,928 ;   

• To date, a total of 112 entry points (PoE) and sanitary control points (PoCs) have been set up in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri to protect the country's major cities and prevent the spread of the epidemic in neighboring countries.

Samoa declares state of emergency over deadly measles epidemic

Via The Guardian: Samoa declares state of emergency over deadly measles epidemic. Excerpt:

Samoa has closed all schools and cracked down on public gatherings as it enters a state of emergency over the deadly measles outbreak spreading across the Pacific islands. 

The island state of just 200,000, halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand, announced the state of emergency on Saturday after declaring a measles epidemic late in October, when the first deaths were reported. 

Since then, at least six deaths, mostly infants under the age of two, have been linked to the outbreak, the health ministry said in a statement late last week. Of the 716 suspected cases of measles, 40% required hospitalisation. 

As of the weekend, it would be a “mandatory legal requirement” for unvaccinated citizens to receive an immunisation injection, the government said in a statement. Only about two-thirds of the population has been immunised, according to the health ministry.  

In the statement, Samoa’s director general of health, Leausa Take Naseri, said: “The way it is going now and the poor (immunisation) coverage, we are anticipating the worst to come.”  

He added that the children who have died had not been vaccinated. 

New Zealand’s foreign minister, Winston Peters, said on Friday that his country would send 3,000 vaccines and 12 nurses to Samoa to assist with the outbreak. 

“Measles is highly contagious, and the outbreak has taken lives in Samoa,” Peters said. “It is in everybody’s interests that we work together to stop its spread.” 

Measles cases are rising globally, including in wealthy nations such as the US and Germany, where some parents shun immunisation mostly for philosophical or religious reasons, or concerns, debunked by medical science, that such vaccines could cause autism. 

In Tonga, about 900km from Samoa, the ministry of health last week said an outbreak of measles in the country occurred following the return of a squad of Tongan rugby players from New Zealand.  

Since then, 251 cases of confirmed or suspected measles have been identified, the ministry said.

Ebola in DRC: Epidemic slows, WHO prequalifies vaccine

Via provinces26rdc.net: Ebola in DRC: epidemic slows, WHO prequalifies vaccine. Excerpt:

The health authorities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the World Health Organization (WHO) have observed in recent weeks a significant reduction in cases of Ebola contamination in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri. 

According to the latest epidemiological bulletin dated Saturday, November 16, 517 suspected cases are under investigation. No new cases are confirmed, no new deaths of confirmed cases have been recorded and no cured persons have been released from ETCs. 

No health workers are among the newly confirmed cases.  

These encouraging trends confirm that the virus is starting to slow down. Over the past week, the Kalunguta Health Zone has reported 21 days with no new confirmed cases of Ebola. In the health zone of Katwa, it is 42 days without new confirmed cases. "As the number of cases is steadily decreasing, other case indicators seem encouraging," says the UN Health Agency headquartered in Geneva. 

More generally, the proportion of contacts recorded among the cases before the onset of symptoms increases over time, sometimes reaching the 100% mark (6/6) in the last 7 days.  

According to the WHO, trends in the proportion of community deaths among confirmed cases have also improved. In the last three weeks, 12% (3/34) of the cases were community deaths, compared to 28% (17/61) in the previous three weeks (October 9-29) and 33%, the overall average of the epidemic as a whole.  

However, concerns remain about the recent transfer of cases to the Mabalako health zone. During the last 21 days (23 October - 12 November), 40 confirmed cases were reported in five active health zones in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri, the majority in three health zones, including Mabalako (40%), with 16 cases, Mandima (the third with 13 cases) and finally Beni, with 8 cases, or 20%. 

In addition, WHO notes that local transmission in Bingo and Ngoyo areas (in the Mabalako health zone) is ongoing due to security problems causing difficulties in access and response in these areas.

DRC Ebola: CMRE update, November 16

CMRE has published Situation épidémiologique du 16 novembre 2019. All is quiet (for now) on the Ebola front. Excerpt from the Google translation:

EVOLUTION OF THE EPIDEMIC IN THE PROVINCES OF NORTH KIVU AND ITURI AS AT NOVEMBER 15, 2019

Saturday, November 16, 2019   

Since the beginning of the epidemic, the cumulative number of cases is 3,292, of which 3,174 are confirmed and 118 are probable. In total, there were 2,195 deaths (2077 confirmed and 118 probable) and 1070 people healed. 

• 517 suspected cases under investigation; 

• No new confirmed cases; 

• No new deaths of confirmed cases have been recorded; 

• No cured person has emerged from CTEs;  

• No health worker is among the new confirmed cases. The cumulative number of confirmed / probable cases among health workers is 163 (5% of all confirmed / probable cases), including 41 deaths;

 

The data presented in this table are subject to change after extensive investigation and after redistribution of cases and deaths in their respective health areas.

NEWS  

Goma opens leadership capacity building workshop for Ebola epidemic response to Ebola Virus Disease   

• The coordinator of the epidemic response to #Ebola Virus Disease in North and South Kivu Province and Ituri, Prof. Steve Ahuka Mundeke, opened this Saturday, November 16, 2019 in Goma North Kivu a workshop on building the capacity of actors involved in the response against #Ebola; 

• For four days, participants, coordinating and sub-coordinating officers of the response, the Ministry of Health, the World Health Organization (WHO), national security, CDC and DFID will be equipped with management skills epidemics before, during and after the tenth epidemic of #Ebola Virus Disease, especially in the event of any outbreak; 

• According to Prof. Ahuka, this workshop will not only benefit this epidemic, but will help, through acquired skills, to cope with other epidemics or other crises in a collective and individual way. "Each participant will be able to use these skills in his daily life," he concluded;   

• This training for the response officers, from 16 to 20 November 2019, is organized by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with WHO with funding from UKaid from the British people. 

VACCINATION  

• 93 people were vaccinated with the 2nd Ad26.ZEBOV / MVA-BN-Filo vaccine (Johnson & Johnson) in the two Health Zones of Karisimbi in Goma; 

• Since the start of vaccination on August 8, 2018 with the rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine, 252,835 people have been vaccinated; 

• Approved October 22, 2019 by the Ethics Committee of the School of Public Health of the University of Kinshasa and October 23, 2019 by the National Ethics Committee, the second vaccine, called Ad26.ZEBOV / MVA-BN -Filo, is produced by Janssen Pharmaceuticals for Johnson & Johnson; 

• This new vaccine complements the first, the rVSV-ZEBOV, vaccine used until then (since August 08, 2018) in this outbreak, manufactured by the pharmaceutical group Merck, after approval of the Ethics Committee on May 20, 2018. It has recently been approved. 

MONITORING AT ENTRY POINTS  

• Since the beginning of the epidemic, the total number of travelers checked (temperature rise) at the sanitary control points is 117,333,420 ;  

• To date, a total of 112 entry points (PoE) and sanitary control points (PoCs) have been set up in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri to protect the country's major cities and prevent the spread of the epidemic in neighboring countries.

Goma: Kahembe neighborhood chief calls on population to receive new Ebola vaccine

Via Koma Ebola: Goma: Kahembe neighborhood chief calls on population to receive new Ebola vaccine.

This Friday, the second day of the vaccination, several residents of Kahembe district came forward to be vaccinated. Confiding in KomaEbola, the head of this district, Celestin Tulinavo, who was the first to be vaccinated, welcomed the involvement of the population. 

"My family and I are vaccinated. The whole population of my neighborhood has appropriated the activity, prevention is better than cure. It is very important that everyone is vaccinated. I encourage everyone to be vaccinated. Even children a year or older must come for the vaccine. I have sensitized all my people for a long time. There is no resistance," he said. 

The campaign is planning to vaccinate 50,000 people at Goma and could expand the activity to other parts of the province. According to the coordinator of the Ebola Virus Disease Response in the DRC, Professor Steve Ahuka, no one should be forced to receive the vaccine, only those who want it receive it by consent.  

As a reminder, the second Ebola vaccine named Johnson & Johnson was introduced on Thursday, November 14 in the DRC from two health areas in the city of Goma.

DRC Ebola: CMRE update, November 15

CMRE has published Situation épidémiologique du 15 novembre 2019. Excerpt from the Google translation:

EVOLUTION OF THE EPIDEMIC IN THE PROVINCES OF NORTH KIVU AND ITURI AT NOVEMBER 14, 2019

Friday, November 15, 2019  

Since the beginning of the epidemic, the cumulative number of cases is 3,292, of which 3,174 are confirmed and 118 are probable. In total, there were 2,195 deaths (2077 confirmed and 118 probable) and 1070 people healed. 

• 508 suspected cases under investigation; 

• No new confirmed cases; 

• 2 new deaths of confirmed cases in North Kivu, including 1 in Beni and 1 in Mabalako; 

• 3 healed people released from CTE in North Kivu in Mabalako;  

• No health worker is among the new confirmed cases. The cumulative number of confirmed / probable cases among health workers is 163 (5% of all confirmed / probable cases), including 41 deaths;

 

The data presented in this table are subject to change after extensive investigation and after redistribution of cases and deaths in their respective health areas.

NEWS  

Continuation of vaccination with the 2nd Ebola vaccine in two health zones of Karisimbi in Goma 

• Immunization continues in the health zones of Majengo and Kahembe in Karisimbi (Goma); 

• A total of 40 people were vaccinated, including 34 adults and 6 children under 18; 

• This vaccination began on Thursday, November 14, 2019 with the Ad26.ZEBOV / MVA-BN-Filo vaccine, produced by Janssen Pharmaceuticals for Johnson & Johnson. This second vaccine was approved on 22 October 2019 by the Ethics Committee of the School of Public Health of the University of Kinshasa and 23 October 2019 by the National Ethics Committee. 

VACCINATION  

• 40 people were vaccinated with the 2nd Ad26.ZEBOV / MVA-BN-Filo vaccine (Johnson & Johnson) in the two Health Zones of Karisimbi in Goma; 

• Since the start of vaccination on August 8, 2018 with the rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine, 252,249 people have been vaccinated; 

• Approved October 22, 2019 by the Ethics Committee of the School of Public Health of the University of Kinshasa and October 23, 2019 by the National Ethics Committee, the second vaccine, called Ad26.ZEBOV / MVA-BN -Filo, is produced by Janssen Pharmaceuticals for Johnson & Johnson.  

• This new vaccine comes in addition to the first, the rVSV-ZEBOV, the vaccine used until then (since August 08, 2018) in this epidemic. Manufactured by the pharmaceutical group Merck, after approval of the Ethics Committee on May 20, 2018, it has recently been approved. 

MONITORING AT ENTRY POINTS  

• A 38-year-old woman from Beni for Nzanga in Mutwanga, North Kivu, high-risk contact (CHR) was intercepted at PK5 checkpoint (PoC) in Beni. She is in contact with a source case notified to Beni on 03 November 2019; 

• Since the beginning of the epidemic, the total number of checked travelers (temperature increase) at the sanitary control points up to 13 November is 116,622,388 ;  

• To date, a total of 112 entry points (PoE) and sanitary control points (PoCs) have been set up in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri to protect the country's major cities and prevent the spread of the epidemic in neighboring countries.