Internal documents show the World Health Organization paid sexual abuse victims in Congo $250 each
Internal documents obtained by The Associated Press show that the World Health Organization has paid $250 each to at least 104 women in Congo who say they were sexually abused or exploited by Ebola outbreak responders.
'An absurdity': Experts slam WHO excusal of sex misconduct
Two experts appointed by the World Health Organization to investigate allegations that some of its staffers sexually abused women during an Ebola outbreak in Congo have dismissed the U_N_ agencyโs own efforts to excuse its handling of such misconduct as โan absurdity.โ.
'Shame for WHO': Victim of sex misconduct slams UN response
A woman who says she was victimized by a World Health Organization doctor during a recent Ebola outbreak in Congo says she is shocked that no senior officials were punished for the sexual abuse and exploitation claims affecting dozens of women in the conflict-ridden country.
Uganda's Ebola responders fret as some people fight measures
Ugandan health officials say they have controlled the spread of a strain of Ebola that has no proven vaccine, But there are pockets of resistance to health measures in rural communities where illiteracy is high and restrictions on movement and business activity have left many bitter.
Panel finds 80 alleged abuse cases tied to WHO's Congo work
A panel commissioned by the World Health Organization has identified more than 80 alleged cases of sex abuse implicating at least 21 WHO staffers during its response to an Ebola outbreak in Congo, making it the biggest-ever sex abuse scandal in U.N. history.
Diplomats, donors concerned about sex abuse reports at WHO
British, European and American diplomats and donors have voiced serious concerns about how the World Health Organization handled sex abuse allegations involving its own staff during an outbreak of Ebola in Congo, as reported this week by The Associated Press.
Man's Ebola relapse spawned dozens of new cases in Africa
(AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File)A man in Africa who developed Ebola despite receiving a vaccine recovered but suffered a relapse nearly six months later that led to 91 new cases before he died. This is the first one clearly shown to have spawned a large cluster of new cases. In June 2019, he developed symptoms and was diagnosed with the disease. In late November, he again developed symptoms and sought care at a health center and from a traditional healer. Giving them to Ebola patients is thought to boost the immune system, and studies suggest they improve survival.
UN says Ebola in Guinea may be linked to 2014 outbreak
A top official at the World Health Organization has said on Friday, March 12, 2021 that a genetic analysis of the ongoing Ebola outbreak in Guinea suggests it may have been sparked by a survivor of the devastating West Africa epidemic that ended five years ago. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, file)GENEVA โ A top official at the World Health Organization said that a genetic analysis of the ongoing Ebola outbreak in Guinea suggests it may have been sparked by a survivor of the devastating West Africa epidemic that ended five years ago. But he added that based on the available genetic sequencing data, the current outbreak was unlikely to be linked to an animal โ which is how nearly all previous Ebola epidemics have begun. The rare possibility of Ebola spreading long after infection highlights the importance of monitoring survivors, and Ryan cautioned against their stigmatization. The Ebola outbreak that swept across West Africa from 2014 to 2016 ultimately killed more than 11,000 people.
WHO says more than 11,000 Ebola vaccines will go to Guinea
WHO regional director for Africa Dr. Matshidiso Moeti said Thursday that 11,000 Ebola vaccines are being prepared in Geneva and are expected to arrive in Guinea over the weekend. The WHO has called on six African countries to be on high alert for Ebola infections after both Guinea and Congo recorded cases in recent weeks. As of Thursday, Guinea has recorded three confirmed Ebola cases, including one death, according to WHO. Health officials hope to stem the spread of Ebola in West Africa, which experienced the deadliest Ebola outbreak in history from 2014 to 2016 that killed more than 11,300 people, mostly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Tests have since shown he was negative for Ebola, according to Ministry of Health and Sanitation spokesman Harold Thomas.
Guinea confirms 3 dead from Ebola, first cases since 2016
Unnamed doctor: An American doctor working with the World Health Organization in Sierra Leone tested positive for Ebola on Sept. 8. All seven positive cases attended the funeral of a nurse in Goueke on Feb. 1 and later showed Ebola symptoms including a fever, diarrhea, vomiting, said the ministry statement. AdโThe news about the Ebola outbreak in Guinea is worrying. Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids from someone showing Ebola symptoms, or from corpses who were positive. The Ebola vaccine being stockpiled is made by Merck.
Congo officials confirm 2nd death from Ebola in the east
A trader sells plastic shoes on a street in Butembo, where the first case of Ebola died, in the North Kivu province of Congo Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021. A second case and death of Ebola has been recorded in Congo's North Kivu province after a 60-year-old woman died Wednesday, according to officials. (AP Photo/Al-hadji Kudra Maliro)BENI โ A second case and death of Ebola has been recorded in Congoโs North Kivu province, according to officials. Health officials had confirmed a case of Ebola on Sunday in another woman who was from the village of Biena and died in Butembo. The governorโs delegate in the Biena health zone, Longs Mabanga Julio, said that the two cases have created panic and frustration among the inhabitants.
Ebola vaccines stockpiled against future outbreaks
The World Health Organization and other partners said Tuesday Jan. 12, 2021, they are creating a global emergency stockpile of about 500,000 vaccines of Ebola vaccine to help stamp out any future outbreaks of the disease. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File)GENEVA โ The World Health Organization and partners said Tuesday they are creating a global stockpile of Ebola vaccines to help stamp out future outbreaks. Financial support for the vaccine stockpile was provided by the vaccines alliance GAVI. The Ebola vaccine being stockpiled is made by Merck. The Ebola vaccines will be stored in Switzerland, where they will be ready to be shipped after WHO and partners receive a request from countries.
WHO to sift Chinese samples, data in hunt for virus origins
Most researchers think that the virus, also known as SARS-CoV-2, originated in animals in China, probably bats, and the WHO has put together a 10-person team to examine the science. They will likely start in Wuhan, where the outbreak was first reported, though a precise itinerary hasn't yet been set. Leendertz said scientists would be looking to see whether stored medical samples from before the first known case provide evidence that the virus was circulating earlier than previously thought. Leendertz expressed confidence in China's โexcellent researchersโ and said data collected by the country's extensive disease surveillance system would likely prove valuable. โHow the virus jumped from which animal to perhaps an intermediate host and then to humans.
US regulators approve 1st treatment for Ebola virus
On Wednesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it has approved the drug for treating Ebola in both adults and children. (Regeneron via AP)U.S. regulators Wednesday approved the first drug for the treatment of Ebola. The Food and Drug Administration OK'd the drug developed by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals for treating adults and children with the Zaire Ebola virus strain, the most deadly of six known types. Regeneron's treatment is a combination of three antibodies that work by killing the virus. After four weeks, about a third of those who got Regeneron's drug had died.
More than 4,000 people have died from measles in Congo this year
There's a "reasonable chance" the US will lose its measles elimination status in October because of measles outbreaks in New York state, the CDC said. (CNN) - More than 4,000 people have died from a measles outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo this year, UNICEF, the United Nations' children's agency, said on Wednesday. "The number of measles cases in DRC this year is more than triple the number recorded for all of 2018. In Congo, measles immunization coverage was only 57% in 2018, UNICEF said. WHO reported in August that there had been almost three times as many measles cases in 2019 as had been reported by the same time in 2018.
WHO: Tanzania not sharing information on suspected Ebola cases
The World Health organization says Tanzania is not sharing information about suspected cases of Ebola "despite several requests." GENEVA - The World Health organization says Tanzania is not sharing information about suspected cases of Ebola "despite several requests." On September 14, Tanzania officially notified the WHO that no case of Ebola had been confirmed in the country, with the two suspected cases both testing negative. WHO said it had also received unofficial reports of a presumptive case of Ebola on September 19 but Tanzania said it had no suspected cases of Ebola in response to a WHO request for information. "The insufficient information received by WHO does not allow for a formulation of a hypotheses regarding the possible cause of the illness," the WHO statement said.
Congo's former health minister detained over Ebola funds
Former Democratic Republic of Congo health minister Oly Ilunga has been detained over allegations of mismanaging public funds worth $4.3 million that were allocated to fighting the Ebola outbreak in the country. KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo - Former Democratic Republic of Congo health minister Oly Ilunga has been detained over allegations of mismanaging public funds worth $4.3 million that were allocated to fighting the Ebola outbreak in the country, one of his lawyers told CNN on Monday. Ilunga quit his position as health minister in July after he was stripped of his responsibility as head of Congo's Ebola response team. The Democratic Republic of Congo is facing the second deadliest Ebola outbreak on record. In July, the WHO declared the outbreak a "Public Health Emergency of International Concern" as responders continue to combat the spread of the disease.
Girl, 9, tests positive for Ebola in Uganda
CDC(CNN) - A 9-year-old Congolese girl tested positive for Ebola in Uganda near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to a press statement from the Ugandan Ministry of Health Thursday. The young girl and her mother traveled from DRC to the Ugandan district of Kasese, seeking medical care on Wednesday. The Permanent Secretary Ministry of Health Uganda, Dr. Diana Atwine, posted a message on Twitter saying the girl and her mother would be sent back to the DRC. "Our team at Bwera Ebola Treatment Unit in Kasese is managing an imported Ebola case. Ebola virus disease can cause fever, headache, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhea and unexplained bleeding, among other symptoms.
New Ebola treatments show promise in fight against Congo outbreak
JONAS ROOSENS/AFP/Getty Images(CNN) - The World Health Organization has decided to narrow an experiment with Ebola patients to two treatments that show real promise. The treatments, known as REGN-EB3 and an antibody called mAb114, were being tried out in patients with Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, along with antiviral drugs ZMapp and Remdesivir. The current Ebola outbreak is now considered the second largest in history, killing at least 1,800 people. The drugs REGN-EB3 and mAb114 showed "clearly better" results compared to the others, according to the Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB). But the study results show real promise, he said, and can "save the lives of people who are unfortunate enough to be infected."
WHO: Ebola outbreak in Congo declared global health emergency
CDC(CNN) - The ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo now constitutes a public health emergency of international concern, the World Health Organization announced on Wednesday. WHO defines a public health emergency of international concern as "an extraordinary event" that constitutes a "public health risk to other States through the international spread of disease" and "to potentially require a coordinated international response." The WHO International Health Regulations' Emergency Committee for Ebola Viral Disease in Congo convened at the organization's world headquarters in Geneva on Wednesday to discuss whether or not the outbreak constitutes international concern. In a deliberation on Friday, it was decided that the outbreak does not constitute a public health emergency of international concern. "They will also lay down what under that public health emergency of international concern other countries need to do.
Mutombo helps CDC with Ebola PSA
Having spent 18 years in the NBA and standing at 7 feet, 2 inches, former basketball star Dikembe Mutombo is highly recognizable. Now Mutombo has teamed up with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help spread communication about Ebola with the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo. "I care deeply about our country, and I need your help to stop the Ebola outbreak in the north part of the country," Mutombo, who is Congolese, said in a public service announcement. More than 6 of every 10 of our brothers and sisters sick with Ebola have died, including many of our children. Mutombo, an eight-time All-Star and four-time NBA defensive player of the year, played for six teams in his NBA career, retiring in 2009.