4 die of Ebola in southern Sudan, UN health agency reports

Four people in southern Sudan have died from Ebola, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) said today, but the agency has recommended no special restrictions on travel or trade as a result of the outbreak and has notified neighbouring countries.

Health authorities of Yambio County have reported a total of 19 cases, including the four fatalities, of Ebola haemorrhagic fever (EHF) in Yambio, Western Equatoria Province, where it appears to be restricted, WHO said.

Laboratory testing performed by the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) and by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the outbreak.

The WHO South Sudan Early Warning and Response Network (EWARN), along with a team from WHO headquarters in Geneva, have been working closely with the health authorities and partners in Yambio County in creating a crisis committee to control the outbreak.

The committee includes the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Médecins sans Frontières-France and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and churches working in public health. The committee is working actively in social mobilization, supporting case management in Yambio hospital and organizing the follow-up of contacts of people who have been ill with the disease, WHO said.