After weeks of legal turmoil and deadly protests, the construction of a US-funded Ebola quarantine building near Laikipia Air Base in Kenya has officially been stopped by Kenya’s Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale.
Duale announced the cessation of the project after being found in contempt of court for allowing construction to continue despite a court order.
The 50-bed facility was announced last month as a treatment site for Americans exposed to the deadly virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) or Uganda. Kenyans protested the construction site, saying the building would unnecessarily put the Kenyan population at risk, and add excessive strain to the country’shealth system.
According to the most recent updates from the DRC, Ebola cases have now reached 1,048, including 267 deaths, with no signs of slowing down. The current outbreak is being caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, a strain that has no targeted vaccines or therapeutics.
UNICEF data shows children at risk
New data from UNICEF shows an estimated 2.95 million children and adolescents aged 18 and under are at risk for Ebola infection in DRC. Children represent 54 percent of the population in the 31 outbreak-affected health zones. Children also face the very real threat of loss of parents and caregivers during the outbreak.
Children are trying to make sense of the threat while surrounded by rumors and online misinformation
“Our teams in Ituri have met children who have lost their mothers, and in some cases both parents, to Ebola,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell in a statement. “Children are trying to make sense of the threat while surrounded by rumors and online misinformation.”
As of June 19, UNICEF estimates children represent 15% of confirmed Ebola cases and over 25% of confirmed deaths in eastern DRC. More than half of children in these provinces under 5 years are malnourished, and immunization rates are low with more than 20% never having received a first dose of the diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccine.
“Children are especially vulnerable because they depend on caregivers and cannot distance themselves from a sick parent or sibling in the same way that an adult can. To better protect children, we need sustained access, and the resources needed to reach every affected community,” said Russell.
Study shows low risk of Ebola exportation
A new study in Eurosurveillance shows that since the first documented Ebola outbreak in 1976, there has been a low risk of exportation of the virus outside of affected countries.
In the past 50 years, researchers found documentation of only 28 confirmed Ebola disease cases outside Africa, with 25 primary imported cases and three secondary cases infected by another patient in the United States or Europe. All but one of the 28 cases outside the affected country occurred during the 2014-12016 West African outbreak, the largest Ebola outbreak to date. One case has been exported during the current outbreak, and American doctor who was treated in Germany.
The authors calculated the crude overall risk since the year 2000 to be0.17 Ebola disease cases outside Africa per 1,000 reported cases in Africa.
“Nearly all confirmed Ebola disease cases reported outside Africa have been linked to known occupational exposures, with reasons for travel specific to outbreak response,” the authors said. “We emphasize the role of local, community-based case management and infection prevention and control measures as the most effective strategy for managing outbreak risks both overall and outside the source region.”
