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The Ebola virus disease (EVD) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo continues with relatively high numbers of cases reported in recent weeks (Figure 1), and some encouraging signs. Katwa and Butembo health zones remain the epicentres of the outbreak, reporting 71% of cases in the last three weeks, with smaller clusters continuing to occur concurrently across a geographically dispersed area. As of 5 February, 789 EVD cases 1 (735 confirmed and 54 probable) have been reported, including 488 deaths (overall case fatality ratio: 62%). Thus far, 267 people have been discharged from Ebola Treatment Centres (ETCs) and enrolled in a dedicated monitoring and support programme. Among cases with a reported age and sex, 58% (454/788) were female, and 30% (232/786) were aged less than 18 years; including 116 children under five years. Five new health worker infections were reported in Katwa (4) and Kalunguta (1); overall 67 health workers have been affected to date. Published on February 07,...

The Ministry of Health (MoH), WHO and partners continue to respond to an outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD), despite persistent challenges around security and community mistrust impacting response measures. Published on January 31, 2019 at 06:00AM

On 7 January 2019, the International Health Regulations (IHR) National Focal Point for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland notified WHO about two cases of extensive drug resistant (XDR) Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection diagnosed in the United Kingdom. Published on January 30, 2019 at 06:00AM

On 17 January 2019, two genetically-linked circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) isolates were reported from Molumbo district, Zambezia province, Mozambique. The first one, was from an acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) case with onset of paralysis on 21 October 2018, a six-year old girl with no history of vaccination, and the second isolate was from a community contact of the first case, a child aged one-year old. Published on January 25, 2019 at 07:16AM

The Ministry of Health (MoH), WHO and partners have continued to face challenges in the containment and control of the Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The number of reported cases increased during recent weeks, most notably from the Katwa health zone where response teams have faced pockets of community mistrust. The outbreak has also extended southwards to Kayina health zone, a high security risk area. Teams are working actively to build community trust and scale up response activities around these new clusters. Figure 1 shows that as of 22 January 2019, there have been a total of 713 EVD cases 1 (664 confirmed and 49 probable), including 439 deaths (overall case fatality ratio: 62%). Thus far, 247 people have been discharged from Ebola Treatment Centres (ETCs), with many having enrolled in a dedicated program for monitoring and supporting survivors. Among cases with a reported age and sex, 59% (420/710) of cases were female, and 30% (214/...

On 19 December 2018, the Argentinian Ministry of Health and Social Development issued an epidemiological alert regarding an increase in cases of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) in Epuyén, Chubut Province. Between 28 October 2018 – 20 January of 2019, a total of 29 laboratory-confirmed cases of HPS, including 11 deaths have been reported in Epuyén, Chubut Province. Epuyén has a population of approximately 2 000 persons, and Chubut Province is located in Patagonia in southern Argentina. The index case had environmental exposure prior to symptom onset on 2 November, and subsequently attended a party on 3 November. Six cases who also attended the party experienced the onset of symptoms between 20-27 November 2018. An additional 17 cases, all of whom were epidemiologically-linked to previously confirmed cases, experienced symptom onset between 7 December 2018 and 3 January 2019 (Figure 1). Potential human-to-human transmission is currently under investigation. Published on January 2...

The Ministry of Health (MoH), WHO and partners continue to respond to the ongoing Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in one of the most complex settings possible. A high number of cases are still being reported, most notably from the metropolitan areas of Katwa Health Zone during the past week. The decline in case incidence has continued in Beni; a positive indication of how effective the response can be despite multiple challenges. Published on January 17, 2019 at 07:00AM

WHO is supporting the Ministry of Public Health of Madagascar to respond to an unusually large measles outbreak. Published on January 17, 2019 at 06:00AM

From 1 December 2018 through 31 December 2018, the International Health Regulations (IHR) National Focal Point of Saudi Arabia reported five additional cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection. Published on January 16, 2019 at 06:07AM

WHO and partners continue to respond to the ongoing Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in one of the most complex settings possible. Published on January 10, 2019 at 06:00AM

On 22 November 2018, the World Health Organization was informed of a cluster of suspected Yellow fever (YF) cases and deaths in Edo State, Nigeria. Published on January 09, 2019 at 07:00AM

The response by WHO and partners to the ongoing Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak continues despite disruptions to key services due to security incidents taking place in Beni and Butembo during the recent election on 30 December 2018. In order to ensure the safety of all staff deployed, as a precautionary measure, operations were scaled back for a few hours on election day. All normal operations have been fully restored as of 1 January 2019. After an intensification of field activities in early December, notable improvements can be observed in many areas, notably a decrease in cases in Beni. However, hard-earned progress could still be lost to rebound levels of transmission resulting from prolonged periods of insecurity hampering containment efforts. During the reporting period (27 December 2018 – 2 January 2019), 16 newly confirmed cases were reported from Beni (two), Butembo (five), Katwa (three), Komanda (one), Mabalako (one), and Oicha (four) health zones (Figure 1). As of 2 Jan...

The Panama Ministry of Health has reported an increase in cases of hantavirus infection in Los Santos Province, Republic of Panama, to the Pan American Health Organization / World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO). Between 1 January and 22 December 2018, a total of 103 confirmed cases of hantavirus have been reported at the national level, 99 of which were reported in Los Santos Province. In Los Santos Province, 51 cases were classified as hantavirus fever 1 (HF) without pulmonary syndrome and 48 cases were classified as hantavirus pulmonary syndrome 2 (HPS), including four deaths. Cases were confirmed by serology and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) 3 . Sequencing determined that the type of virus associated with this outbreak is Choclo virus. It was first isolated in 1999 in the western Republic of Panama. Published on January 04, 2019 at 06:01AM

The Ministry of Health (MoH), WHO and partners continue to respond to the Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Published on December 28, 2018 at 07:00AM

From 31 October through 30 November 2018, the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005) National Focal Point of Saudi Arabia reported eight additional cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection, including two deaths. Details of these cases can be found in a separate document (see link below). From 2012 through 30 November 2018, the total number of laboratory-confirmed MERS-CoV cases reported globally to WHO under IHR (2005) is 2274 with 806 associated deaths. The total number of deaths includes the deaths that WHO is aware of to date through follow-up with affected member states. Published on December 28, 2018 at 07:07AM

Pakistan Health Authorities have reported an ongoing outbreak of extensively drug resistant (XDR) typhoid fever that began in the Hyderabad district of Sindh province in November 2016. An increasing trend of typhoid fever cases caused by antimicrobial resistant (AMR) strains of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (or S. Typhi) poses a notable public health concern. In May 2018, the case definitions for non-resistant, multi-drug resistant (MDR) and XDR typhoid fever were formally agreed by the Regional Disease Surveillance and Response Unit (RDSRU) in Karachi, following a review by an expert group of epidemiologists, clinicians and microbiologists from Pakistan. All typhoid fever cases reported from 2016 to 2018 were reviewed and classified according to these case definitions (see Table 1). From 1 November 2016 through 9 December 2018, 5 274 cases of XDR typhoid out of 8 188 typhoid fever cases were reported by the Provincial Disease Surveillance and Response Unit (PDSRU) in Sindh pro...

Responding to the Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo continues to be a complex challenge. Published on December 20, 2018 at 06:01AM

Responding to the Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo continues to be a complex challenge. Published on December 20, 2018 at 06:01AM

On 22 November 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) was informed by Dutch authorities of a laboratory-confirmed case of yellow fever. The case-patient is a 26 year-old male who visited Gambia from 3 through 17 November 2018, with a three day trip to Senegal from 12 through 14 November. He had no history of vaccination for yellow fever prior to the trip. On 18 November 2018, the case-patient developed symptoms including fever, nausea and vomiting. On19 November 2018 he was hospitalized with symptoms of acute liver failure and he is still in hospital as of 10 December. The International Health Regulations National Focal Point (IHR NFP) from the Netherlands has notified counterparts in Gambia and Senegal about the case, and about the exact locations visited by the patient. There have been no other reports of confirmed yellow fever cases from Senegal, Gambia or The Netherlands at this time. Published on December 18, 2018 at 06:01AM

The Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is occurring in an unforgiving context. Non-engagement from communities and conflict continue to hamper response activities in some affected areas. Moreover, poor infection prevention and control (IPC) practices across numerous private and public health centers remain a major source of amplification of the outbreak and risk to health and other frontline workers. Despite these challenges, substantial progress has been made on multiple fronts to address the situation, and daily successes are being observed in the implementation of proven public health measures alongside newer tools, such as vaccination and novel therapeutics. Together with the Ministry of Health (MoH) and our partners, WHO is further scaling up our response to the developing situation. WHO especially emphasizes the need to continuously improve quality, judiciously deploy new tools at our disposal, and sustain international commitment to resp...