This Weekly Bulletin focuses on selected acute public health emergencies occurring in the WHO African Region. The WHO Health Emergencies Programme is currently monitoring 58 events in the region. This week’s edition covers key ongoing events, including:
Lassa fever in Nigeria
Listeriosis in South Africa
Cholera in Zambia
Cholera in Democratic Republic of the Congo
Humanitarian crisis in Central African Republic
Humanitarian crisis in South Sudan
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 issues and challenges include:
The outbreak of listeriosis in South Africa remains a key public health concern in the region; with significant economic and political repercussions. This outbreak highlights gaps in the food safety system which should be urgently addressed in order to protect consumers in the country and the region
In Zambia and Democratic Republic of the Congo, the persistence of risk factors such as poor water, sanitation and hygiene conditions coupled with heavy rains and flooding during the rainy season are fuelling the upsurge of cholera cases.