Public Health - Conakry

IOM offices in South Sudan. Credit: IOM

abcnews.go.com - by Morgan Winsor - October 31, 2019

The United Nations migration agency has halted Ebola screenings at five border crossings in East Africa after three of its aid workers were killed.

The International Organization for Migration said several of its volunteers were caught in the crossfire during clashes between rival groups on Saturday morning in South Sudan's Central Equatoria region. Two men and one woman died, and two male volunteers sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

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CLICK HERE - OCHA - South Sudan: Three humanitarian workers killed

CLICK HERE - IOM halts Ebola screening after aid workers killed in South Sudan

fda.gov - October 10, 2019

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration allowed marketing of a rapid diagnostic test (RDT) to detect Ebola virus antigens (proteins) in human blood from certain living individuals and samples from certain recently deceased individuals suspected to have died from Ebola (cadaveric oral fluid). The OraQuick Ebola Rapid Antigen Test is the first rapid diagnostic test the FDA has allowed to be marketed in the U.S. for the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). The test provides a rapid, presumptive diagnosis that must be confirmed.

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ALSO SEE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION WITHIN THE LINKS BELOW . . .

OraQuick Ebola Rapid Antigen Test (8 page .PDF document)
https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/cdrh_docs/pdf19/DEN190025.pdf

GOMA/The Democratic Republic of Congo - Henry Bongyereirwe/UNICEF

thenewhumanitarian.org - by Amy Daffe - August 1, 2019

. . . One year into the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the epidemic is accelerating . . .

. . . Instead of working with local leaders, outsiders arrived spreading messages that have left communities with more questions than answers. Information has not been well-tailored to different community contexts nor appropriately adapted to local languages or social norms.

As a result, cases are being hidden in communities and worryingly the contacts of those that die are largely unknown, making tracing difficult.

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In this Tuesday Feb. 26 2019 photo, health workers give a training presentation about how to detect and prevent the spread of Ebola, in an army barracks outside South Sudan's town of Yei. With the deadly Ebola outbreak in Congo now an international emergency, neighboring South Sudan and its war-weakened health system is a major concern, especially after one case was confirmed near its border. Health experts say there is an urgent need to increase prevention efforts. (AP Photo/ Sam Medrick)

apnews.com - by Sam Mednick - July 20, 2019

JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — With the deadly Ebola outbreak in Congo now an international emergency , neighboring South Sudan and its war-weakened health system is a major concern, especially after one case was confirmed near its border. Health experts say there is an urgent need to increase prevention efforts . . .

. . . Health experts worry about what would happen if Ebola reaches South Sudan as the shattered nation tries to recover from a five-year civil war that killed nearly 400,000 people and displaced millions. Many health facilities were badly damaged or destroyed, and unrest continues in parts of the country despite a fragile peace deal signed in September . . .