KENYA, ANGOLA, 8 OTHER AFRICAN COUNTRIES AT RISK AS EBOLA SPREADS

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By ‘Sefiu Ajape

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has warned that 10 African countries are at risk of being affected by the ongoing Ebola outbreak in Central and East Africa.

The head of the agency, Jean Kaseya, raised the alarm on Saturday while addressing concerns about the virus potentially spreading beyond the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.

“We have 10 countries at risk,” Kaseya, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), said, listing Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Zambia.

He attributed the heightened risk to regional dynamics, noting that “high mobility and insecurity” are driving the spread of the virus.

The warning follows the World Health Organisation (WHO) declaration of the outbreak as an international emergency.

The outbreak, which is centred in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, has recorded hundreds of suspected cases and more than 170 suspected deaths, according to the World Health Organisation.

Africa CDC on May 18 declared the outbreak a “Public Health Emergency of Continental Security,” citing concerns over wider regional transmission driven by insecurity, weak health systems and cross-border population movement.

Ebola, a severe viral disease, is transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids and can cause severe bleeding, organ failure and death.