WASHINGTON, February 17. /TASS/. The US government has called for the global community’s prompt and effective effort to tackle an outbreak of the Ebola fever in Africa.
"Infectious diseases are transnational health and national security threats," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement released on Tuesday. "While the world is reeling from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Ebola has again emerged, simultaneously, in both Central and West Africa. <…> We must do everything in our power to respond quickly, effectively, and with commensurate resources to stop these outbreaks before they become largescale epidemics."
She said US President Joe Biden had been briefed about the situation. According to Psaki, the US administration is set to work with the affected governments, the World Health Organization, the African Union and the African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, and neighboring states.
In her words, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan spoke with the Ambassadors of Guinea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, and Liberia to convey the United States willingness to work closely with the governments of affected countries, and neighboring countries whose citizens would be at risk if the infection continues to spread.
"The United States stands ready to do everything in its power to ensure a robust global response and to stop these outbreaks," the White House press secretary said.
Starting from February 1, four Ebola patients have been registered in the city of Butembo in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Two of them died. On February 14, Guinea’s authorities have officially declared an Ebola outbreak in the southeast of the country. The first case of the illness - a nurse who died on January 28 - was reported from the Nzerekore region and in the city of Gueke.
The WHO describes Ebola virus disease (formerly known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever) as "a severe, often fatal illness, with a case fatality rate of up to 90%." Symptoms include sudden onset of fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat. This is followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, impaired kidney and liver function, and in some cases, both internal and external bleeding. The infection is transmitted by direct contact with the blood, body fluids and tissues of infected animals or people. People are infectious as long as their blood and secretions contain the virus. The incubation period is 2 to 21 days. During an outbreak, those at higher risk of infection are health workers, family members and others in close contact with sick people and deceased patients.