Six embassies warn of Ebola risk in South Sudan
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Eye Radio and Kenyans.co.ke
The embassies of Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States are warning of a high risk of an Ebola outbreak in South Sudan. They are calling on the authorities to increase health funding and guarantee humanitarian access across the country, according to Eye Radio.
The six embassies have warned of a high risk of an Ebola outbreak in South Sudan and called on leaders to use more public revenue to fund healthcare, including the salaries of health workers, according to their joint statement reported by Eye Radio.
South Sudan has not yet recorded any cases of Bundibugyo Ebola virus, but the WHO estimates a 99% risk of the virus being imported because of ongoing transmission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The two countries share a border of about 813 kilometres, and confirmed cases in the DRC exceeded 10,900 as of 9 November.
Several suspected cases have been investigated in South Sudan. A case of fatal haemorrhagic fever in Morobo County was ultimately attributed to yellow fever on 10 November after two blood tests for Ebola were negative, while another alert in Yei was still awaiting confirmation in early November.
Kenya, which has between 800 and 1,500 daily crossings into South Sudan, is also monitoring the risk of importation. The country had recorded nine Ebola cases, including two deaths, and was due to complete a 42-day monitoring period on 23 December before it could be declared free of the disease. The WHO is calling, among other measures, for surveillance, screening and laboratory capacity to be maintained.
