WHO News

On 3 March 2020, the Ministry of Health of South Sudan reported two presumptive positive cases of yellow fever in Kajo Keni county, Central Equatoria State, South Sudan. Both the cases were subsequently confirmed positive by plaque reduction neutralization testing (PRNT) at the regional reference laboratory, Uganda Viral Research Institute (UVRI) on 28 March. The cases were identified through a cross-border rapid response team investigation mounted in response to the recently declared outbreak in bordering Moyo district, Uganda. During the investigation, the team collected 41 blood samples from five villages which were in close proximity to the bordering Moyo district,…

No new cases have been reported in the ongoing Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 17 February 2020 (Figure 1). View the full article

From 1 through 29 February 2020, the National IHR Focal Point of Saudi Arabia reported 18 additional cases of MERS-CoV infection, including five associated deaths. The cases were reported from Riyadh (seven cases), Hafer Albatin (two cases), Najran (two cases), Eastern (two cases), Aljouf (one case), Makkah (one case), Hail (one case), Taif (one case) and Jeddah (one case) regions. Among reported cases of MERS-CoV infection, majority (16 cases) were male, and only two cases were female. The age of reported cases ranged from 34 to 81 years. No cases were reported among healthcare workers. The link below provides details of the 18 reported cases. View the full article

Since 17 February 2020, no new cases have been reported in the ongoing Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. While this is a positive development, there is still a high risk of re-emergence of EVD given the current challenges related to limited resources amidst other local and global emergencies, continued insecurity and population displacement in previous hotspots, and limited access to some affected communities. It is therefore critical to maintain surveillance and response operations in the period leading up to the declaration of the end of the outbreak, as well as after the declaration – as outlined in the WHO recommended criteri…

No new cases have been reported in the ongoing Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 17 February 2020 (Figure 1). View the full article

There have been no new cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD) reported in the ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 17 February 2020. However, because there is still a risk of re-emergence of EVD, it is critical to maintain surveillance and response operations until and after the end of outbreak declaration – as outlined in the WHO recommended criteria for declaring the end of the EVD outbreak. Unfortunately, the response faces increasing limitations that could result in delayed detection and control of flare-ups. These limitations include a funding shortfall, ongoing insecurity and lack of access to some areas, and limited staffing and resources am…

It has been over 21 days since the last confirmed case of Ebola virus disease (EVD) has been reported (Figure 1). On 9 March, the last 46 contacts finished their follow-up. These are important milestones in the outbreak as over one maximum incubation period has passed without any confirmed cases of EVD. However, there is still a high risk of re-emergence of EVD, and a critical need to maintain response operations – as outlined in the WHO recommended criteria for declaring the end of the EVD outbreak. Extensive surveillance, pathogen detection, clinical management and other response activities are currently ongoing. These include, but are not limited to, investigating an…

On 18 February 2020, the National IHR Focal Point for Qatar reported one laboratory-confirmed case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus infection (MERS-CoV) to WHO. View the full article

On 12 February 2020, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) reported an increase in the number of cases of dengue infection in French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Saint-Martin. In January 2020, health authorities in the region declared a dengue epidemic in Guadeloupe and Saint-Martin and indicated that Martinique is also at-risk of an epidemic. Dengue epidemics in these territories usually occur when there is a shift in the predominant circulating DENV serotype, and non-immune populations (e.g., tourists, new immigrants, or people not previously exposed to the circulating serotypes) are exposed to the new serotype through human movements w…

No new cases of Ebola virus disease have been reported since 17 February, and on 3 March, the only person confirmed to have EVD in the last 21 days (Figure 1) was discharged from an Ebola Treatment Centre after recovering and testing negative twice for the virus. This is an important milestone in the outbreak. However, there is still a high risk of re-emergence of EVD, and a critical need to maintain response operations – as outlined in the WHO recommended criteria for declaring the end of the EVD outbreak. As of 3 March 2020, a total of 3444 EVD cases were reported from 29 health zones (Table 1, Figure 2), including 3310 confirmed and 134 probable cases, of which 2264 …

The Central African Republic (CAR) has experienced an upsurge in measles cases as a result of outbreaks since 2019. View the full article

From 19 to 25 February, no new confirmed cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD) were reported. This was the first time since the beginning of the response that no new confirmed cases were reported over a seven-day period (Figure 1). The most recent case was reported in Beni Health Zone, North Kivu Province on 17 February. While the lack of new confirmed cases reported in the last seven days is a major achievement, the outbreak remains active and risk of additional cases emerging remains high. In the past 21 days (5 to 25 February 2020), four confirmed cases were reported from two health areas in Beni Health Zone in North Kivu Province (Figure 2, Table 1). Even with strengthen…

From 1 December 2019 through 31 January 2020, the National IHR Focal Point of Saudi Arabia reported 19 additional cases of MERS-CoV infection, including 8 associated deaths. View the full article

On 7 February 2020, the Chile IHR National Focal Point informed the Pan American Health Organization / World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) of the detection of three confirmed cases of autochthonous dengue fever reported on Easter Island. View the full article

From 4 November through 14 February 2020, eight laboratory confirmed cases of yellow fever in Buliisa (3), Maracha (1) and Moyo (4); including four deaths (CFR 50%), were detected through the national surveillance system. View the full article

During the past week, the incidence of new Ebola virus disease (EVD) cases has remained low (Figure 1). From 12 to 18 February, one new confirmed case was reported. The case was reported in Beni Health Zone, North Kivu Province and had an epidemiological link to a confirmed case reported on 5 February. As the case was alerted and transferred to an Ebola Treated Centre four days after symptom onset, there remains a risk that onward transmission to contacts may have occurred, and further cases may be expected from the currently active chain of transmission. Ebola virus may also persist in some survivors’ body fluids for several months, and in a limited number of instances, …

From 1 January through 9 February 2020, 472 laboratory confirmed cases including 70 deaths (case fatality ratio= 14.8%) have been reported in 26 out of 36 Nigerian states and the Federal Capital Territory. View the full article

This week, the case incidence continued to be low in the Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Figure 1). From 5 to 11 February, three new confirmed cases were reported in Beni Health Zone, North Kivu Province. All three cases have epidemiological links to a transmission chain originating in Aloya Health Area, Mabalako Health Zone, with possible nosocomial exposure in Beni. The most recent case reported from Beni Health Zone on 11 February was isolated one day after symptom onset. Early detection of cases reduces the probability of transmission of EVD in the community and significantly improves the clinical outcome for the patients. …

From 29 January to 4 February four new confirmed cases were reported in the ongoing Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. View the full article

On 9 and 13 January 2020, the National IHR Focal Point of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) reported an additional two (2) laboratory-confirmed cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) to WHO. The link below provides details of the 2 reported cases: View the full article

From 22 to 28 January five new confirmed cases were reported in the ongoing Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. View the full article

Nine new confirmed cases were reported from 15 to 21 January in the ongoing Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. View the full article

On 20 January 2020, National IHR Focal Point (NFP) for Republic of Korea reported the first case of novel coronavirus in the Republic of Korea. The case is a 35-year-old female, Chinese national, residing in Wuhan, Hubei province in China. The case-patient had developed fever, chill, and muscle pain on 18 January while in Wuhan. She visited a local hospital in Wuhan and was initially diagnosed with a cold. On 19 January , the case-patient was detected with fever (38.3 °C) upon arrival at the Incheon International Airport. The case-patient was transferred to a national designated isolation hospital for testing and treatment. She was tested positive for pancoronavirus re…

On 15 January 2020, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan (MHLW) reported an imported case of laboratory-confirmed 2019-novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) from Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. The case-patient is male, between the age of 30-39 years, living in Japan. View the full article

Fourteen new confirmed cases were reported from 8 to 14 January in the ongoing Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. View the full article