埃博拉病毒outbreak in DRC is international emergency, says WHO

[KINSHASA] The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is now a “public health emergency of international concern” (PHEIC), the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared, calling on the international community to step up action and funds to stem the crisis.

此前的发现我n Goma, a city of almost 2 million inhabitants, where an infected pastor stayed for some time before he died. A woman has also died after crossing the border from DRC into Uganda last week to buy fish.

该声明周三下午在《国际卫生法规》紧急委员会的建议下，引用了与卢旺达接壤并拥有国际机场的戈马的发展。

“除非国际社会立即加紧努力，否则我们将在很长一段时间内为这次爆发付费，”

总干事Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

但是，委员会强调，该决定不应意味着封闭边界和旅行路线，这将对紧急响应和当地社区产生负面影响。

该委员会以前的三次拒绝援引Pheic（WHO的最高警报），称其不符合所有标准。

根据刚果卫生部的数据，自2018年8月爆发于2018年8月爆发以来，2019年有17例病例和1,698例死亡。

WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, making the announcement in Geneva, said: “It is time for the world to take notice and redouble our efforts. We need to work together in solidarity with the DRC to end this outbreak and build a better health system.”

特德罗（Tedros）强调需要不受限制的运动，称闭合边界只会鼓励人们使用未经监测的非正式过境，从而增加了传播疾病的风险。

他还指出，已经在边界和其他检查站进行了7500万埃博拉病毒筛查。

“Closing borders could have disastrous consequences for the lives and livelihoods of the people who cross the border every day for trade, education or to visit relatives,” he added.

Crisis costs

He said the PHEIC is not a measure intended to organise an international fundraiser, but about “preventing the international spread of disease”, adding that WHO is working to finalise a comprehensive strategic response plan and evaluate financial implications.

But he warned: “Unless the international community steps up and funds the response now, we will be paying for this outbreak for a long time to come.”

The strategic response plan is expected to provide the resources needed for the next phase of the response, which “will run to the hundreds of millions" [of dollars], according to the WHO chief.

国际卫生法规紧急委员会还对特德罗斯所说的“限制回应的资金延误”感到失望。

Declaring a PHEIC is an exceptional measure, which has only been taken four times by WHO: in 2009, during the H1N1 flu epidemic, in 2014 for polio and the Ebola epidemic which killed more than 11,300 people in West Africa, and in 2016 for the Zika virus.

The decision was broadly welcomed by the scientific community. Josie Golding, epidemics lead at UK-based charitable foundation Wellcome, said it was the “right response”.

“A step-up in the response, led by the DRC and with full international support, is critical if we are to bring the epidemic to an end. This must include enhanced diplomatic, public health, security and logistic efforts as well as releasing much needed financial resources,” she said.

她补充说，各国一定不要等待埃博拉病毒遍布边界或在采取行动之前出现在家门上。

Vaccine urgency

在周三在日内瓦举行的新闻发布会上，该组织的卫生紧急计划执行董事迈克尔·瑞安（Michael Ryan）强调，加速疫苗的交付是WHO的回应的优先事项，这是在增加覆盖范围的越来越多的压力。
自去年以来，刚果民主共和国当局一直在用国际药品公司默克公司制造的实验性疫苗RVSV-ZEBOV接种疫苗。

"We support the introduction of a second vaccine, as recommended by the SAGE [Strategic Advisory Group of Experts], subject to appropriate approvals at the national level," said Ryan.

Sage建议增加有资格获得RVSV-ZEBOV inin的人数，并引入了由Johnson＆Johnson和中国疫苗候选AD5-EBOV开发的新实验疫苗，包括MVA-BN，由Cansino和Beijing开发中国生物技术研究所。

Congolese Minister of Health Oly Ilunga Kalenga, in a circular seen bySciDev.Net, said it was open to receiving proposals from experimental vaccine producers who would like to evaluate their vaccines in the DRC.

However, he added: "Given the risks of confusion, the communication problems and the confusion between the currently used rVSV-ZEBOV-GP vaccine and other vaccines that do not have the same level of evidence, the use of any other vaccine against Ebola virus disease is prohibited in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri.”

这篇文章最初是由Scidev.net的撒哈拉以南非洲法国桌子制作的，并为清晰而编辑。