08.08.14
Public Health England staff help tackle Ebola emergency
Public Health England has “reaffirmed its commitment” to helping tackle west Africa’s Ebola outbreak, which is now a ‘Public Health Emergency of International Concern’.
The World Health Organization (WHO), which made that declaration, has recommended that the affected countries declare a national emergency, activate national disaster and emergency management mechanisms, ensure the provision of quality clinical care and improve the safety and protection that health care workers receive.
Dr Brian McCloskey, director of global health at PHE, said: “The measures recommended by WHO are needed to ensure everything that can be done to control the outbreak, is being done. We will continue to support global efforts to arrest the impact of Ebola in west Africa, including deploying Public Health England staff to the affected areas to provide strategic and public health support.
“As we have seen with Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome, we have robust mechanisms in place for detecting and responding to any usual infections within the UK, but ultimately the best possible defence will be ensuring the outbreak in west Africa is brought under control.
“Though it is possible a case could be identified in the UK in a person returning from an affected country, this is unlikely. Even if a case were identified, there is minimal risk of it spreading across the general population as UK hospitals are well prepared to handle infectious diseases. Ebola causes far more harm in countries with less developed healthcare facilities and public health capacity.”
The WHO has recommended exit screening for unexplained illnesses consistent with potential Ebola infection for people leaving the affected countries.
Professor David Heymann of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, called the recommendations “comprehensive and evidence-based”.
The current risk assessment for UK remains ‘very low’.
Public Health England said it is working with government colleagues, the WHO and a wide range of partners including UNICEF, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), to provide support to the affected countries.
Ten of its staff are supporting international efforts and offering support on the ground in West Africa.
More than 1,500 cases of Ebola have been reported in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, of which there have been more than 900 deaths. It is the largest-ever outbreak.
(Image shows a Liberian soldier, left, manning a checkpoint to control the movement of people as authorities try to prevent the Ebola virus from spreading, on the outskirts of Monrovia, Liberia: AP Photo/Abbas Dulleh)
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