This Weekly Bulletin focuses on selected acute public health emergencies occurring in the WHO African Region. The WHO Health Emergencies Programme is currently monitoring 46 events in the region. This week’s edition covers key ongoing events, including:
- Dengue fever in Burkina Faso
- Plague in Madagascar
- Lassa fever in Nigeria
- Marburg virus disease in Uganda
- Humanitarian Crisis in Central African Republic
- Humanitarian Crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
For each of these events, a brief description followed by public health measures implemented and an interpretation of the situation is provided.
A table is provided at the end of the bulletin with information on all new and ongoing public health events currently being monitored in the region, as well as events that have recently been closed.
Major challenges include:
The incidence of dengue fever in Burkina Faso has decreased in recent weeks, but the outbreak remains a concern. While the overall case fatality rate is low, incidence of cases is high and continued vector control interventions, particularly in affected areas outside of Ouagadougou will be important for controlling the outbreak.
The humanitarian situation in Central African Republic continues to deteriorate, challenging the ability of humanitarian groups to respond to the needs of affected populations.