Ebola in West Africa: EU increases its immediate health assistance
14 Apr 2014 01:11 PM
The
European Union is stepping up its efforts to contain the spread of the Ebola
outbreak in West Africa and assist those affected by the deadly virus. The
Commission has increased its funding for immediate health operations, experts
and risk assessments to €1.1 million, and is contributing with medical
equipment to help accelerate diagnosis.
"Acting
rapidly is crucial. We are reinforcing our support to partner organisations in
Guinea and neighbouring countries to ensure urgently needed healthcare to those
hit by the epidemic and to stop it from further expanding," said
Kristalina Georgieva, EU Commissioner for International Cooperation,
Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response.
EU Commissioner
for Development, Andris Piebalgs, commented: "The European Commission
has been mobilising experts and equipment at short notice to provide quick help
on the ground. Good coordination is key in the international response to this
outbreak and this is why we are also setting up a network of EU and African
health institutes to exchange know-how in tackling this terrible
disease."
Following a
commitment of €500 000 from last week, the Commission has increased its
assistance to help the affected communities in Guinea and neighbouring
countries to €1.1 million. These new funds will allow Médecins Sans
Frontières to scale up the on-going interventions in the field of
clinical management (such as the isolation of patients and psychosocial
support), the tracing of suspected cases and the training and supply of
personal protective equipment for health workers. Furthermore, the new funds
will support the World Health Organization (WHO) in ensuring the
epidemiological surveillance and providing medical supplies, equipment,
transport logistics and health personnel.
Three humanitarian
experts from the Commission have been sent to Conakry and Monrovia to monitor
the situation on the ground and liaise with local authorities and
partners.
Moreover, on 26
March six European specialists of the European Mobile Lab project (EMLab) for
dangerous infectious diseases arrived in Gueckedou, Guinea, with a mobile
laboratory unit. This consists of easily transportable equipment for high
security virus manipulation packed in boxes. It will substantially enhance the
available capacity for rapid analyses of samples and confirmation of Ebola
cases, reducing the number of un-diagnosed cases and preventing the further
spread of the disease.
The EU is closely
following the latest developments with its Centre for Disease Prevention and
Control (ECDC). This has just issued a second Rapid Risk
Assessment stating that the risk for EU citizens travelling or
living in the affected countries remains "low", and giving a series
of recommendations on prevention.
Background
This is the first
Ebola virus outbreak registered in the region. It was publicly announced by the
Guinean Government on 22 March, following French Institut Pasteur's
confirmed identification of Ebola virus in samples of cases initially thought
to be Lassa fever, which is endemic to the region.
To date, 157
suspected cases including 101 deaths have been reported in Guinea and 21
suspected cases in Liberia, out of which 10 resulted lethal.
First discovered
in DR Congo and Sudan in 1976, several outbreaks of this viral haemorrhagic
fever have been reported in East and Central Africa, but not in West
Africa.
Highly contagious,
human to human transmission of Ebola occurs by simple contact with blood and
body fluids. No vaccine or treatment is yet available for this pathogen, one of
the world's most lethal with a case fatality rate of up to 90% depending on
the strain.
The EMLab project
is an initiative funded by the European Commission. It includes partners from
Germany, Italy, France, Hungary, Switzerland, Slovenia and the United Kingdom.
As part of the international response to the current Ebola outbreak in Guinea,
WHO and its Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) requested lab
experts of the EMLab project to support the Ministry of Health of Guinea in
viral haemorrhagic fever diagnostics.
The team of
experts is composed of scientists from the Bernhard-Nocht-Institute for
Tropical Medicine (Germany), the Bundeswehr Institute of Microbiology
(Germany), the Istituto Nazionale per le Malattie Infettive L. Spallanzani
(Italy) and the Laboratoire P4 - INSERM Jean Merieux (France). They will be
joined by four experts from Germany, France and Hungary on 15 April; another
team will take over four weeks later.
For more
information
The European
Commission's humanitarian aid and civil protection:
http://ec.europa.eu/echo/index_en.htm
Commissioner
Georgieva's website:
http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/georgieva/i
ndex_en.htm
The European
Commission's development and cooperation:
http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/index_en.htm
Commissioner
Piebalgs' website:
http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/piebalgs/in
dex_en.htm