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Niniola Soleye, Managing Director of the Dr Stella Adadevoh Trust, and Dr. Glen Gaulton, the vice Dean and Director at the Centre for Global Health join CNBC Africa to discuss the level of preparedness for disease outbreaks in the region.

Ebola 3 years later: Are we ready for the next epidemic?

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa reported an outbreak of a highly pathogenic H5N8 bird flu at a farm in the Free State province, an agricultural industry body group, AgriSA, said on Friday.
South Africa earlier this month suspended all trade in birds and chicken products from neighbouring Zimbabwe after it reported an outbreak of H5N8 at a commercial poultry farm.
(Reporting by Tiisetso Motsoeneng, editing by Larry King)
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South Africa reports outbreak of H5N8 bird flu, industry body says

Tom Miles | GENEVA
Democratic Republic of Congo has suffered two separate outbreaks of polio, a debilitating and potentially deadly disease that the world is trying to eradicate, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.
Confirmation of the outbreaks in Congo&#8217;s Haut-Lomami and Maniema provinces came less than a week after the WHO said polio had resurfaced in Syria, in an area partly controlled by Islamic State.
&#8220;WHO assesses the risk of further national spread of these strains to be high, and the risk of international spread to be medium,&#8221; the WHO, the U.N. health agency, said in a disease outbreak report.
Like the Syrian outbreak, the four Congolese cases were caused by circulating vaccine-derived polio virus type 2, which emerges in areas with only patchy vaccine coverage after being excreted by people who have been vaccinated.
In 1988, the goal of eradicating the disease globally was set for the year 2000, but it has been repeatedly pushed back, with billions of dollars spent on trying to snuff out the last remaining pockets of disease.
The new head of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, welcomed $1.2 billion of new funding for the battle against polio, made at the Rotary Convention in Atlanta, the WHO said.
&#8220;It is humbling to see again the power of this incredible global partnership to generate funding to fight one of the world’s most horrible and debilitating diseases,&#8221; Tedros said in a WHO statement. &#8220;We must finish the job properly to ensure that there is no chance of this terrible disease coming back.&#8221;
Thirty years ago, polio paralysed more than 350,000 children each year in more than 125 countries around the world, the statement said. Since then, incidence of the disease has been reduced by more than 99.9 percent, it said.
Polio invades the nervous system and can cause irreversible paralysis within hours. It spreads rapidly among children. If transmission can be ended, it would be only the second human disease to be eradicated since smallpox was banished in 1980.
The original wild virus still circulates in Afghanistan and Pakistan, with a total of five cases this year. Vaccine-derived polio is a risk for war zones and other areas with poor health coverage.
The Congolese cases are the first in the country since 2012. Nigeria, Laos, Myanmar and Ukraine have also seen vaccine-derived polio cases in the past three years.
(Reporting by Tom Miles, editing by Larry King)
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WHO confirms Congo polio outbreaks in new eradication setback

Gus Trompiz | PARIS
Zimbabwe has reported an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N8 bird flu at a commercial poultry farm in Mashonaland East province, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) said on Friday.
The virus was detected on a farm with 2 million birds in Lanark and killed 7,845 animals. Another 75,155 birds were culled, the Paris-based OIE said, citing a report from the Zimbabwe&#8217;s livestock and veterinary services.
&#8220;The affected site is close to a small dam where there are a number of different migratory waterfowl, which are tentatively suspected to be (the) source of infection,&#8221; the report said.
(Reporting by Gus Trompiz; Editing by Bate Felix)
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Zimbabwe reports H5N8 bird flu at poultry farm – OIE

Gus Trompiz | PARIS
The Democratic Republic of Congo has reported three outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5 bird flu among poultry in the northeastern province of Ituri, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) said on Wednesday.
The virus was detected among ducks and hens in three villages near the border with Uganda, the OIE said, citing a report from the Congolese agriculture ministry.
The H5N8 strain of bird flu was present in Uganda, the OIE added, without specifying what type of H5 bird flu had been detected in Congo.
(Reporting by Gus Trompiz; Editing by Bate Felix)
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Congo reports outbreaks of severe bird flu in Ituri: OIE

A cholera outbreak in parts of Mozambique has infected more than 1,200 people, killing two this month after heavy rains, and will spread further if no action is taken, a health ministry official said on Tuesday.
The disease, which is usually contracted from infected water, has already spread from the capital Maputo to another three of Mozambique&#8217;s 13 provinces since the start of this year, deputy director of public health Benigna Matsinhe told Reuters.
&#8220;But there are 19 more districts on the verge of seeing outbreaks of cholera in the coming days if nothing is done to prevent the spread of the disease. It is a situation that is of concern to the Ministry of Health,&#8221; said Matsinhe.
One of the deaths this month occurred in Maputo, while the other fatality was recorded in the northwestern province of Tete four days ago, the official said.
A widespread drought across southern Africa last year parched the land ahead of Mozambique&#8217;s rainy season. Last month a tropical storm caused widespread flooding and killed at least 7 people.
Cholera causes severe vomiting and diarrhea and is often lethal if not treated swiftly.
(Reporting by Manuel Mucari; Writing by TJ Strydom; Editing by Richard Lough)
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Mozambique cholera outbreak spreading with more than 1,200 infected

A larvae outbreak which has damaged maize in South Africa&#8217;s Limpopo and North West provinces is &#8220;strongly suspected&#8221; to be the invasive armyworm that has attacked crops in neighbouring countries, a scientist said on Monday.
The infestation of fall armyworms &#8211; an invasive Central American species that is harder to detect and eradicate than its African counterpart &#8211; has erupted in Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi and follows a crippling El Nino-triggered drought which scorched much of the region last year.
Countries with confirmed outbreaks can face import bans on their agricultural products because the armyworm is classified as a quarantine pest.
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Johnnie van den Berg, an entomologist at South Africa&#8217;s North-West University who has collected samples from affected farms, said taxonomic tests were being done for confirmation.
&#8220;It needs to be identified by a taxonomist but we strongly suspect it is the fall armyworm &#8230; Visually, it looks 100 percent the same,&#8221; he told Reuters in a phone interview.
&#8220;It may be confirmed by the end of this week,&#8221; he said.
Van den Berg said coverage in South Africa was not &#8220;blanket&#8221;, with outbreaks reported many kilometres (miles) apart in some places, but northern Limpopo province, bordering Zimbabwe, seems to be the epicentre.
The impact varies: some farms have had minimal leaf damage, others have been devastated.
&#8220;On some farms, there has been 90 percent damage and nearly all the leaves have been stripped from the plant. It looks like a row of broom sticks,&#8221; he said.
South Africa is expected to have a maize surplus this season after a deficit last year when 7.5 million tonnes of maize was produced against national demand of 10.5 million tonnes. [nL5N1F21E0]
Industry sources have said while an armyworm outbreak would be unlikely to push the crop into deficit it could reduce the size of the expected surplus.
&#8220;This fall armyworm is a Central American pest. Here we will need to do more research to see where and how it establishes itself,&#8221; Van den Berg said.
He said the continental invasion began in July with outbreaks in Nigeria and Sao Tome and Principe. It remains unclear how it jumped across the Atlantic.
But the moths can be carried long distances by wind and may have winged across central Africa that way.
The moths lay eggs in maize plants and the caterpillars have also been known to march en masse across the landscape &#8211; hence the name.﻿

outbreak

Ebola 3 years later: Are we ready for the next epidemic?

South Africa reports outbreak of H5N8 bird flu, industry body says

WHO confirms Congo polio outbreaks in new eradication setback

Zimbabwe reports H5N8 bird flu at poultry farm – OIE

Congo reports outbreaks of severe bird flu in Ituri: OIE

Mozambique cholera outbreak spreading with more than 1,200 infected

Pests in South Africa maize strongly suspected to be armyworms

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outbreak

Ebola 3 years later: Are we ready for the next epidemic?

South Africa reports outbreak of H5N8 bird flu, industry body says

WHO confirms Congo polio outbreaks in new eradication setback

Zimbabwe reports H5N8 bird flu at poultry farm – OIE

Congo reports outbreaks of severe bird flu in Ituri: OIE

Mozambique cholera outbreak spreading with more than 1,200 infected

Pests in South Africa maize strongly suspected to be armyworms

News Tips

Advertise With Us

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