Ebola no longer poses global health risk: WHO

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: The World Health Organization (WHO) had announced that Ebola is no longer an international health emergency and the risk of virus spreading is now low.

"The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is no longer a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)," Dr Margaret Chan, the WHO director-general told a news briefing at WHO headquarters in Geneva on Tuesday.

The UN health agency, however, noted that new clusters of infection may continue to occur due to reintroductions of virus as it is cleared from the survivor population, though at decreasing frequency.

WHO continues to stress that Sierra Leone, as well as Liberia and Guinea, are still at risk of Ebola flare-ups, largely due to virus persistence in some survivors, and must remain on high alert and ready to respond.

Worldwide, there have been 28,639 cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD) and 11,316 deaths as of 13 March, 2016.

Ebola, a haemorrhagic fever, is a severe, often fatal illness in humans. The virus is transmitted among humans through close and direct physical contact with infected bodily fluids, the most infectious being blood, faeces and vomit.

Symptoms of Ebola include - fevere, muscle pain, headache and sore throat. This is followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, symptoms of impaired kidney and liver function, and in some cases, both internal and external bleeding.

Currently, there are no licensed Ebola vaccines although 2 potential candidates are undergoing evaluation.