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WHO AFRO Outbreaks and Other Emergencies, Week 8: 17 - 23 February 2018 (Data as reported by 17:00; 23 February 2018)

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Overview

This Weekly Bulletin focuses on selected acute public health emergencies occurring in the WHO African Region. The WHO Health Emergencies Programme is currently monitoring 52 events in the region. This week’s edition covers key new and ongoing events, including:

  • Cholera in Uganda
  • Cholera in Zimbabwe
  • Lassa fever in Nigeria
  • Lassa fever in Benin
  • Listeriosis in South Africa
  • Humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Humanitarian crisis in Niger

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:

  • A fast evolving cholera outbreak has occurred in a refugee settlement in Hoima District, located in western part of Uganda. The most affected people are newly arrived refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This outbreak requires swift interventions to interrupt the rapid transmission and reduce fatality.

  • The Lassa fever outbreak in Nigeria continues, with more cases being reported. Given the scale of the outbreak, the ongoing response operations need to be scaled up quickly.