Nigeria is suffering its worst outbreak of Lassa fever, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday, as local health officials said 72 people had died since the start of this year.

&quot;Nigeria&#39;s Lassa fever outbreak has reached record highs, with 317 laboratory-confirmed cases,&quot; the WHO said in a statement, quoting figures from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

Lassa fever, named after the town in northern Nigeria where it was first identified in 1969, is endemic but the number of confirmed cases &quot;has never reached&quot; this level before, it added.

But in an update, the NCDC said: &quot;Since the onset of 2018, 325 cases have been classified as 317 confirmed cases, eight probable cases with 72 deaths.&quot; Fourteen health workers have been affected by the virus in six states.

The WHO said a total of 2,845 people who have come into contact with patients have been identified and were being monitored.&nbsp;

Worst-hit by the virus is Edo state, in the south, where Crusoe Osagie, a media aide to the state government, said mostly rural areas were affected.

&quot;Edo state is the only state with Lagos to have a special treating hospital for this disease, which is in Irrua,&quot; he told AFP. &quot;People come here from all over. &quot;

The federal-owned facility usually deals with about a hundred cases each year but has already handled that number in the last two months, he added.

WHO said it was supporting the NCDC effort to contain the disease and treat those affected in treatment centres across the country.

&quot;The ability to rapidly detect cases of infection in the community and refer them early for treatment improves patients&#39;&nbsp;chances of survival and is critical to this response,&quot; said the world body&#39;s representative in Nigeria, Wondimagegnehu Alemu.

Lassa fever is spread through contact with food or items contaminated with rats&#39;&nbsp;urine or faeces or after coming into direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person.&nbsp;

It can be prevented by enhanced hygiene and avoidance of all contact with rats.

More than 100 people were killed in 2016 in an outbreak affecting 14 of the 36 states, including Lagos and the capital Abuja.

It can be prevented by enhanced hygiene and avoidance of all contact with rats

Nigeria is suffering its worst outbreak of Lassa fever, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday, as local health officials said 72 people had died since the start of this year. "Nigeria's Lassa fever outbreak has reached record highs, with 317 laboratory-confirmed cases," the WHO said in a statement, quoting figures from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). Lassa fever, named after the town in northern Nigeria where it was first identified in 1969, is endemic but the number of confirmed cases "has never reached" this level before, it added. But in an update, the NCDC said: "Since the onset of 2018, 325 cases have been classified as 317 confirmed cases, eight probable cases with 72 deaths." Fourteen health workers have been affected by the virus in six states. The WHO said a total of 2,845 people who have come into contact with patients have been identified and were being monitored. Worst-hit by the virus is Edo state, in the south, where Crusoe Osagie, a media aide to the state government, said mostly rural areas were affected. "Edo state is the only state with Lagos to have a special treating hospital for this disease, which is in Irrua," he told AFP. "People come here from all over. " The federal-owned facility usually deals with about a hundred cases each year but has already handled that number in the last two months, he added. WHO said it was supporting the NCDC effort to contain the disease and treat those affected in treatment centres across the country. "The ability to rapidly detect cases of infection in the community and refer them early for treatment improves patients' chances of survival and is critical to this response," said the world body's representative in Nigeria, Wondimagegnehu Alemu. Lassa fever is spread through contact with food or items contaminated with rats' urine or faeces or after coming into direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person. It can be prevented by enhanced hygiene and avoidance of all contact with rats. More than 100 people were killed in 2016 in an outbreak affecting 14 of the 36 states, including Lagos and the capital Abuja.

Record highs in Nigeria Lassa fever outbreak: World Health Organisation

An outbreak of yellow fever that has killed hundreds of people in central Africa could spread across the world, an international children`s charity warned today, even as a massive vaccination campaign was expected to get underway. 
 
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) declared a yellow fever epidemic in June after the haemorrhagic virus spread from Angola, where at least 360 people have died since last December in the worst outbreak in decades.&nbsp; 
 
A wide effort to bring the outbreak under control by vaccinating more than 10 million people in DRC was due to start this week after delays due to shortages of vaccine and syringes. 
 
&quot;There is no known cure for yellow fever and it could go global,&quot; said Save the Children&#39;s country director for DRC, Heather Kerr, in a statement. 
 
The yellow fever vaccine takes one year to manufacture. Save the Children said there are only 7 million emergency vaccines after stocks were depleted in series of outbreaks earlier this year. 
 
World Health Organisation (WHO) advisers have recommended using a fifth of the standard dose of vaccine in the event of a global shortage - enough to immunize temporarily but not to give lifelong immunity. 
 
&quot;We&#39;ve got to urgently reach as many children and families as we can with the supplies that are left, and this is the only way we are able to do that right now,&quot; Kerr said. 
 
The WHO aims to vaccinate 8.5 million people in Congo&#39;s capital Kinshasa and 3.4 million in DRC`s border areas before the onset of the rainy season in October, to reduce the risk of mosquito-borne diseases spreading. 
 
A total of 2,269 suspected cases and 16 deaths have been reported in DRC as of August 8, the WHO said.&nbsp; 
 
Angola is starting a campaign this week to vaccinate 3 million people. The epidemic appears to be declining in the Southern African country with no confirmed cases reported in July or August, the WHO said. 
 
(Reuters)

The Congolese government has faced a string of problems in their endeavour to control the epidemic

An outbreak of yellow fever that has killed hundreds of people in central Africa could spread across the world, an international children`s charity warned today, even as a massive vaccination campaign was expected to get underway. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) declared a yellow fever epidemic in June after the haemorrhagic virus spread from Angola, where at least 360 people have died since last December in the worst outbreak in decades. A wide effort to bring the outbreak under control by vaccinating more than 10 million people in DRC was due to start this week after delays due to shortages of vaccine and syringes. "There is no known cure for yellow fever and it could go global," said Save the Children's country director for DRC, Heather Kerr, in a statement. The yellow fever vaccine takes one year to manufacture. Save the Children said there are only 7 million emergency vaccines after stocks were depleted in series of outbreaks earlier this year. World Health Organisation (WHO) advisers have recommended using a fifth of the standard dose of vaccine in the event of a global shortage - enough to immunize temporarily but not to give lifelong immunity. "We've got to urgently reach as many children and families as we can with the supplies that are left, and this is the only way we are able to do that right now," Kerr said. The WHO aims to vaccinate 8.5 million people in Congo's capital Kinshasa and 3.4 million in DRC`s border areas before the onset of the rainy season in October, to reduce the risk of mosquito-borne diseases spreading. A total of 2,269 suspected cases and 16 deaths have been reported in DRC as of August 8, the WHO said. Angola is starting a campaign this week to vaccinate 3 million people. The epidemic appears to be declining in the Southern African country with no confirmed cases reported in July or August, the WHO said. (Reuters)

Congo's yellow fever outbreak 'could spread across the world'

Almost $122 million is needed to prevent and manage the medical complications of the&nbsp;Zika&nbsp;virus spreading throughout the Americas and causing birth defects in babies, the World Health Organisation said on Friday. 
 
A specific focus is needed on supporting women and girls of child-bearing age, the UN health agency said as it set out a revised joint strategy with the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) for how to handle the mosquito-borne virus. 
 
Zika&nbsp;has caused alarm throughout the Americas since cases of the birth defect microcephaly were reported in Brazil, the country hardest hit by the outbreak. 
 
The rare birth defect is marked by unusually small head size and potentially severe developmental problems. Brazilian authorities have confirmed more than 1,400 cases of microcephaly in babies whose mothers were exposed to&nbsp;Zika&nbsp;during pregnancy. 
 
On Thursday, US health officials reported three babies there have been born with birth defects linked to likely&nbsp;Zika&nbsp;virus infection in their mothers in pregnancy, along with three cases of lost pregnancies linked to&nbsp;Zika.. 
 
WHO director-general Margaret Chan said much had been learned about&nbsp;Zika, how it spreads, the consequences of infection and how to control it since global health authorities set out their initial response plans earlier this year. WHO declared&nbsp;Zika&nbsp;a global public health emergency in February. 
 
&quot;The response now requires a unique and integrated strategy that places support for women and girls of child-bearing age at its core,&quot; she said in a statement. 
 
The plan highlights several aspects of the&nbsp;Zika&nbsp;outbreak &quot;that require a collaborative, global response,&quot; the WHO said. 
 
These include the potential for further international spread of&nbsp;Zika&nbsp;given the wide distribution of Aedes mosquitoes capable of transmitting it; the lack of population immunity in areas where Zika&nbsp;virus is circulating for the first time; and the lack of vaccines, treatments and rapid diagnostic tests. 
 
Chan said &quot;coherent funding mechanisms&quot; were essential for the plan to be implemented successfully, and noted the number of donors engaged in the global&nbsp;Zika&nbsp;response had risen to 60 from 23 in February 2016. 
 
WHO, PAHO and other agencies say they need $121.9 million to implement the revised plan from now until December 2017. 
(Reuters)

Support for women and girls of child-bearing age crucial for prevention

Almost $122 million is needed to prevent and manage the medical complications of the Zika virus spreading throughout the Americas and causing birth defects in babies, the World Health Organisation said on Friday. A specific focus is needed on supporting women and girls of child-bearing age, the UN health agency said as it set out a revised joint strategy with the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) for how to handle the mosquito-borne virus. Zika has caused alarm throughout the Americas since cases of the birth defect microcephaly were reported in Brazil, the country hardest hit by the outbreak. The rare birth defect is marked by unusually small head size and potentially severe developmental problems. Brazilian authorities have confirmed more than 1,400 cases of microcephaly in babies whose mothers were exposed to Zika during pregnancy. On Thursday, US health officials reported three babies there have been born with birth defects linked to likely Zika virus infection in their mothers in pregnancy, along with three cases of lost pregnancies linked to Zika.. WHO director-general Margaret Chan said much had been learned about Zika, how it spreads, the consequences of infection and how to control it since global health authorities set out their initial response plans earlier this year. WHO declared Zika a global public health emergency in February. "The response now requires a unique and integrated strategy that places support for women and girls of child-bearing age at its core," she said in a statement. The plan highlights several aspects of the Zika outbreak "that require a collaborative, global response," the WHO said. These include the potential for further international spread of Zika given the wide distribution of Aedes mosquitoes capable of transmitting it; the lack of population immunity in areas where Zika virus is circulating for the first time; and the lack of vaccines, treatments and rapid diagnostic tests. Chan said "coherent funding mechanisms" were essential for the plan to be implemented successfully, and noted the number of donors engaged in the global Zika response had risen to 60 from 23 in February 2016. WHO, PAHO and other agencies say they need $121.9 million to implement the revised plan from now until December 2017. (Reuters)

$122 million needed for global response to Zika : WHO

Almost $122 million is needed to prevent and manage the medical complications of the&nbsp;Zika&nbsp;virus spreading throughout the Americas and causing birth defects in babies, the World Health Organization said on Friday. 
 
A specific focus is needed on supporting women and girls of child-bearing age, the UN health agency said as it set out a revised joint strategy with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) for how to handle the mosquito-borne virus. 
 
Zika&nbsp;has caused alarm throughout the Americas since cases of the birth defect microcephaly were reported in Brazil, the country hardest hit by the outbreak. 
 
The rare birth defect is marked by unusually small head size and potentially severe developmental problems. Brazilian authorities have confirmed more than 1,400 cases of microcephaly in babies whose mothers were exposed to&nbsp;Zika&nbsp;during pregnancy. 
 
On Thursday, U.S. health officials reported three babies there have been born with birth defects linked to likely&nbsp;Zika&nbsp;virus infection in their mothers in pregnancy, along with three cases of lost pregnancies linked to&nbsp;Zika.. 
 
WHO director-general Margaret Chan said much had been learned about&nbsp;Zika, how it spreads, the consequences of infection and how to control it since global health authorities set out their initial response plans earlier this year. WHO declared&nbsp;Zika&nbsp;a global public health emergency in February. 
 
&quot;The response now requires a unique and integrated strategy that places support for women and girls of child-bearing age at its core,&quot; she said in a statement. 
 
The plan highlights several aspects of the&nbsp;Zika&nbsp;outbreak &quot;that require a collaborative, global response,&quot; the WHO said. 
 
These include, the potential for further international spread of&nbsp;Zika&nbsp;given the wide distribution of Aedes mosquitoes capable of transmitting it; the lack of population immunity in areas whereZika&nbsp;virus is circulating for the first time; and the lack of vaccines, treatments and rapid diagnostic tests. 
 
Chan said &quot;coherent funding mechanisms&quot; were essential for the plan to be implemented successfully, and noted the number of donors engaged in the global&nbsp;Zika&nbsp;response had risen to 60 from 23 in February 2016. 
 
WHO, PAHO and other agencies say they need $121.9 million to implement the revised plan from now until December 2017. 
 
(Reuters)

The UN health agency's plan highlights several aspects of the?Zika?outbreak "that require a collaborative, global response"

Almost $122 million is needed to prevent and manage the medical complications of the Zika virus spreading throughout the Americas and causing birth defects in babies, the World Health Organization said on Friday. A specific focus is needed on supporting women and girls of child-bearing age, the UN health agency said as it set out a revised joint strategy with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) for how to handle the mosquito-borne virus. Zika has caused alarm throughout the Americas since cases of the birth defect microcephaly were reported in Brazil, the country hardest hit by the outbreak. The rare birth defect is marked by unusually small head size and potentially severe developmental problems. Brazilian authorities have confirmed more than 1,400 cases of microcephaly in babies whose mothers were exposed to Zika during pregnancy. On Thursday, U.S. health officials reported three babies there have been born with birth defects linked to likely Zika virus infection in their mothers in pregnancy, along with three cases of lost pregnancies linked to Zika.. WHO director-general Margaret Chan said much had been learned about Zika, how it spreads, the consequences of infection and how to control it since global health authorities set out their initial response plans earlier this year. WHO declared Zika a global public health emergency in February. "The response now requires a unique and integrated strategy that places support for women and girls of child-bearing age at its core," she said in a statement. The plan highlights several aspects of the Zika outbreak "that require a collaborative, global response," the WHO said. These include, the potential for further international spread of Zika given the wide distribution of Aedes mosquitoes capable of transmitting it; the lack of population immunity in areas whereZika virus is circulating for the first time; and the lack of vaccines, treatments and rapid diagnostic tests. Chan said "coherent funding mechanisms" were essential for the plan to be implemented successfully, and noted the number of donors engaged in the global Zika response had risen to 60 from 23 in February 2016. WHO, PAHO and other agencies say they need $121.9 million to implement the revised plan from now until December 2017. (Reuters)

USD 122m needed for global response to Zika: WHO

Guinea has reached the end of active Ebola virus transmission, the World Health Organisation said on Wednesday, the second such declaration from the country at the epicentre of the global&nbsp;outbreak of the disease.

The proclamation was made because the person with Guinea&#39;s last confirmed case tested negative for the second time more than 42 days ago.

Guinea will now enter a 90-day period of heightened surveillance to make sure of the identification of any new cases before they spread to others.

In the most recent outbreak, seven confirmed and three possible cases of the virus surfaced between March 17 and April 6. At least five people died.

Another three cases were recorded in neighbouring Liberia in a woman who had travelled from Guinea and her two children.

The flare-up seems to have occurred after a person came into contact with infected body fluid from an Ebola survivor, WHO said. Since the virus can remain active in certain body fluids for months, the WHO cautions the risk of outbreaks remain.

However, WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier said on Tuesday that the organisation was confident that affected countries were prepared and could deal with flare-ups efficiently.

Guinea is believed to be where the world&#39;s worst Ebola outbreak occurred, spanning three countries primarily and killing 11,310 people. It first declared itself free of transmission in December.

Guinea has reached the end of active Ebola virus transmission, the World Health Organisation said, the second such declaration from the country at the global epicentre of the disease.

Guinea has reached the end of active Ebola virus transmission, the World Health Organisation said on Wednesday, the second such declaration from the country at the epicentre of the global outbreak of the disease. The proclamation was made because the person with Guinea's last confirmed case tested negative for the second time more than 42 days ago. Guinea will now enter a 90-day period of heightened surveillance to make sure of the identification of any new cases before they spread to others. In the most recent outbreak, seven confirmed and three possible cases of the virus surfaced between March 17 and April 6. At least five people died. Another three cases were recorded in neighbouring Liberia in a woman who had travelled from Guinea and her two children. The flare-up seems to have occurred after a person came into contact with infected body fluid from an Ebola survivor, WHO said. Since the virus can remain active in certain body fluids for months, the WHO cautions the risk of outbreaks remain. However, WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier said on Tuesday that the organisation was confident that affected countries were prepared and could deal with flare-ups efficiently. Guinea is believed to be where the world's worst Ebola outbreak occurred, spanning three countries primarily and killing 11,310 people. It first declared itself free of transmission in December.

Guinea declared free of active Ebola transmission - WHO

The latest outbreak of Ebola in Guinea has ended, the World Health Organization said today, warning that a recurrence of the killer tropical disease still remained a threat.&nbsp; 
The last known Ebola patient in the west African country was discharged from hospital in April.&nbsp; 
WHO has declared the end to an outbreak, also known as the end to viral transmission, 42 days after the last known patient was tested negative for the second time.&nbsp; 
&quot;WHO commends the Government of Guinea and its people on ending this Ebola outbreak,&quot; said Abou Bekr Gaye, the UN agency`s representative in Guinea.&nbsp; 
He called for vigilance to &quot;stop any new cases that may occur.&quot; 
In the three countries hit hardest by the Ebola crisis -- Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone -- fresh cases emerged after an outbreak was declared over.&nbsp; 
The worst-ever Ebola epidemic began in Guinea in December 2013 and went on to kill more than 11,300 people, devastating economies and health systems in the worst affected countries, while testing the world`s capacity to respond to a global health emergency.&nbsp;

An outbreak of Ebola virus in Guinea, which was earlier confined to countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, was the first ever outbreak in a west African country. Since March 2014, West Africa has had the largest outbreak in history, with countries like Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea being the worst affected.

The latest outbreak of Ebola in Guinea has ended, the World Health Organization said today, warning that a recurrence of the killer tropical disease still remained a threat. The last known Ebola patient in the west African country was discharged from hospital in April. WHO has declared the end to an outbreak, also known as the end to viral transmission, 42 days after the last known patient was tested negative for the second time. "WHO commends the Government of Guinea and its people on ending this Ebola outbreak," said Abou Bekr Gaye, the UN agency`s representative in Guinea. He called for vigilance to "stop any new cases that may occur." In the three countries hit hardest by the Ebola crisis -- Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone -- fresh cases emerged after an outbreak was declared over. The worst-ever Ebola epidemic began in Guinea in December 2013 and went on to kill more than 11,300 people, devastating economies and health systems in the worst affected countries, while testing the world`s capacity to respond to a global health emergency.

Latest Ebola outbreak in Guinea is over: WHO

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