The Pan American Health Organization announced Thursday that it’s ramping up assistance to nations throughout the Americas to bolster their Ebola readiness, despite the continued low threat level of the disease in the region.
The organization has put its incident management system into action and is collaborating with health departments to enhance monitoring, laboratory testing and infection prevention measures, enabling nations to quickly identify and handle potential cases.
According to the agency, it’s getting ready to send supplies and testing materials for identifying the Bundibugyo ebolavirus to certain nations that have adequate biosafety capabilities, determined through risk evaluations.
This uncommon Ebola variant called Bundibugyo has led the World Health Organization to issue a public health emergency declaration of international significance.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has documented 344 verified cases and 60 confirmed fatalities, plus 116 additional suspected cases currently being examined.
Verified cases have emerged across multiple provinces, including Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu. Uganda has documented 15 confirmed cases, with one resulting in death.
“Even with low risk, countries must be ready to detect and respond quickly to any possible importation to protect health workers and communities, and to prevent further transmission,” said Dr. Ciro Ugarte, director of health emergencies at the organization.
The agency is additionally coordinating international cooperation to guarantee prompt laboratory testing by sending samples to specialized regional testing facilities.
The organization also emphasized that nations should enhance their readiness systems while avoiding travel or trade restrictions.
