African health ministers have called for stronger preparedness and cooperation to contain the Ebola outbreak, which has spread to four countries.

The call followed an emergency virtual meeting involving the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) amid the rapid spread of the Bundibugyo Ebola strain.

Africa CDC director-general Jean Kaseya said 10,172 confirmed cases and more than 4,932 deaths have been recorded, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda, Kenya,  and Nigeria affected.

He put the case fatality rate at 48.5 per cent, while 2,727 patients had recovered from the disease.

Mr Kaseya said the outbreak has, within five months, escalated from a national emergency into a major continental health security challenge.

He identified insecurity, complex humanitarian situations, inadequate medical countermeasures, and funding shortages as factors hampering efforts to contain the disease.

“The main priority today in our continent is to stop Ebola,” he said.

In a message delivered on his behalf, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described the outbreak as extremely serious and difficult.

“This outbreak in the DRC is not a single outbreak in a single place. It is many outbreaks across a vast and complex area, requiring a sustained response everywhere at the same time,” he said.

He noted that recent measures taken by authorities in Uganda, Kenya, and Nigeria demonstrate the continent’s capacity to manage outbreaks when detected early and met with rapid responses.

Describing Kenya’s response to the outbreak as a “whole-of-government and whole-of-society” approach, Patrick Amoth, director-general for health in Kenya’s Ministry of Health, stressed that the country’s experience also points to gaps Africa must close.

He highlighted health workforce infections, the cross-border spread of cases bypassing surveillance and contact tracing, and Africa’s reliance on uncertain donated medicines amid a lack of licensed vaccines or specific therapeutics as critical gaps.

Mr Amoth stressed that Kenya will keep travel and trade open and will not impose restrictions beyond what international health regulations and evidence require. 

He further noted that the country will share data, sequences, and lessons openly.

Echoing the sentiment, Ugandan Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi said the country’s experience shows transmission can be interrupted when countries act early and decisively.

“Uganda was affected by this outbreak and was able to interrupt transmission within our borders,” he said. “Our experience should give us hope but should also give us a sense of responsibility.”

He noted that the outbreak’s international dimension requires sustained attention.

“The lesson is straightforward: when a public health emergency threatens several countries, our response must also become regional and continental.”

Beyond the four affected nations, 10 other African nations have previously been designated as high-risk, namely South Sudan, Rwanda, Zambia, the Central African Republic, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Angola, the Republic of the Congo, Burundi, and Somalia.

(Xinhua/NAN)