Attachments
This Weekly Bulletin focuses on public health emergencies occurring in the WHO African region. This week’s articles cover:
- Suspected anthrax in Ghana
- Cholera in South Africa
- Cholera in Democratic Republic of the Congo
For each of these events, a brief description, followed by public health measures implemented and an interpretation of the situation is provided.
A table is provided at the end of the bulletin with information on all new and ongoing public health events currently being monitored in the region, as well as recent events that have been controlled and closed.
Major issues and challenges include:
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Health authorities in Ghana have been responding to a suspected anthrax outbreak in Binduri District since 1 June. Rapid response teams have been deployed to support the investigation and response. Available resources are insufficient to carry out response activities, including contact tracing, case management and vaccination of animals. In addition, those involved in the response are challenged with poor community cooperation and compliance with the animal movement ban. The region’s laboratory is poorly equipped to carry out anthrax diagnostics, leading to delays in obtaining results for confirmatory tests on human samples.
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Although there has been a reported decline in cases of cholera in South Africa, there remains a risk for imported cases following travel from other African countries currently experiencing cholera outbreaks. The cholera outbreak is spreading at a time when the government is responding to other public health emergencies; diphtheria, mumps and measles outbreaks, amidst a regress in childhood immunisation coverage. Parents and caregivers are advised to not only maintain good hygiene practices but also ensure that their children are up to date with their routine immunisation for protection from vaccinepreventable diseases. It is crucial that continuous engagement with the local municipality to address the waste management and sewage leakages and intensification of risk communication activities in hotspot communities are maintained.
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The ongoing cholera outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo presents major challenges, including the spread of the disease across multiple provinces, concentration of cases in certain health zones, water scarcity and poor sanitation in some areas, limitations in laboratory capacity, resource mobilization difficulties, and the need for better coordination and awareness