DRC must unite in Ebola fight: WHO

GENEVA: The World Health Organisation chief on Monday urged different political factions in the Democratic Republic of Congo to unite in the battle against Ebola, warning that the risk of spread "remains very high"."Ebola does not take sides. It is the enemy of everybody," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the opening of the organisation’s annual assembly in Geneva. Nearly 1,200 people have died since last August, when the DRC declared a 10th outbreak of Ebola in the country in 40 years. Efforts to roll back the outbreak have been hampered by fighting in the affected regions and attacks on medical teams, as well as locals who view the international effort at prevention with suspicion."Unless we unite to end this outbreak we run the risk it will become more widespread and more expansive and more aggressive," he said. The WHO chief hailed that efforts to rein in the virus, including the vaccination of more than 120,000 people, have so far succeeded in limiting the outbreak to the conflict-wracked North Kivu province and neighbouring Ituri region of the DRC. But, he warned, "I emphasise ‘so far’. The risk of spread remains very high."

from The News International - World http://bit.ly/2YEOkFy

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