Ebola in the DRC one year later – Boiling the Frog?

The outbreak of Ebola virus disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), of which the World Health Organization (WHO) was first notified on August 1, 2018, is now approaching the first anniversary of its initial detection. At the fourth meeting of the Emergency Committee of the WHO regarding this epidemic on July 17, the Director General of the WHO, at the recommendation of the Committee, declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). What were the conditions that led the Committee to recommend the declaration at this point, after 3 prior meetings failed to reach the same result despite multiple calls for such an announcement? (Nuzzo and Inglesby, 2018, Klain and Lucey, 2019) And now that it has been declared, what are the best approaches to respond?

Source: International Journal of Infectious Diseases - July 18, 2019 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Susan McLellan, Mark G. Kortepeter, Nahid Bhadelia, Erica S. Shenoy, Lauren M. Sauer, Maria G. Frank, Theodore J. Cieslak Tags: Editorial Source Type: research