The World Health Organization has raised concern over the Tanzanian government’s failure to furnish stakeholders with laboratory information from samples taken following mysterious death of a person over an unknown illness.
This comes at a time when neighboring country Democratic republic of Congo is battling one of the biggest Ebola outbreak that has claimed at least 1,984 lives since its outbreak in July 2018.
This was revealed during US health secretary’s meeting with Ugandans minister of health Dr Jane Ruth Aceng.
Tanzania lost a 34-year-old medical doctor who is said to have had signs similar to those of the viral hemorrhage fever, reports Tanzania’s health ministry Ummy Mwalimu has since termed as rumors.
United States health secretary Alex Azar says this is breach of international health standards.
Alex Azar, who spoke in Uganda on Monday, told reporters that he and others are “very concerned about the lack of transparency.”
Azar urged Tanzania to share laboratory results regarding the case.
He said efforts are underway to secure Tanzania’s compliance with international health regulations and its obligations to the World Health Organization “to protect Tanzanians as well as all people in the region.”
Alex Azar is leading a U.S delegation on a visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda to learn about the Ebola situation as well as reiterate U.S’ commitment to bringing the Ebola outbreak in the region to an end.
US health secretary Alex Azar has hailed Uganda’s strides to prevent spread of Ebola in to Uganda despite the country neighboring Democratic republic of Congo.
To avoid Ebola related deaths, Uganda like Democratic Republic of Congo will be rolling out the use of monoclonal antibody to treat Ebola is safe in adults.
The monoclonal drugs include regeneron and MAB114.
Monoclonal is offered to Ebola patients in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) under compassionate use and as part of a Phase 2/3 clinical trial of multiple investigational treatments.
Ebola – a tropical fever which first appeared in 1976 in Sudan and the DRC – can be transmitted to humans from wild animals.
It can also reportedly spread through contact with body fluids, infected persons or of those who have succumbed to the virus.
Ebola caused global alarm in 2014 when the world’s worst outbreak began in West Africa, killing more than 11,300 people and infecting an estimated 28,600 as it swept through Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.
