WHO Expects Over 100 Medical Experts On Ground In Ebola-Hit Guinea By Late February

Over 100 national and international experts will be working on the ground in Guinea by the end of February to combat the Ebola outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO) regional director for Africa said on Thursday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th February, 2021) Over 100 national and international experts will be working on the ground in Guinea by the end of February to combat the Ebola outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO) regional director for Africa said on Thursday.

On Sunday, Guinea declared an Ebola outbreak in the southeastern region of Nzerekore after confirming three related deaths. On Monday morning, a fourth victim died.

"We expect to have more than 100 national and international experts on the ground by the end of the month. Thirty vaccination experts have already been mobilized locally and are ready to deploy as soon as the Ebola vaccines arrive in the country, that is in Guinea. Today, more than 11,000 vaccine doses are being prepared in Geneva for deployment to Guinea and they are expected to arrive over the weekend," Matshidiso Moeti told a WHO Africa press briefing.

She added that the response to Ebola and COVID-19 "can be mutually reinforcing" and "produce synergies" by building on the already established guidelines and practices, particularly what concerns coordination between communities and the leadership.

"There are also common preventive measures like physical distancing for COVID-19 and 'Don't Touch' messages for Ebola, as well as the importance of hand hygiene for both," the WHO official said.

The current outbreak in Guinea marks the first time Ebola cases have been detected in the West African country since 2016.