WHO alerts latest Ebola outbreak in DRC
Geneva, May 13: The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Saturday that stopping the latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will be a serious, tough and costly challenge, which requires preparedness for all scenarios.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is scheduled to travel to DR Congo over the weekend to take stock of the situation and direct the continuing response in support of the national health authorities.
"WHO staff were in the team that first identified the outbreak. I myself am on my way to the DRC to assess the needs first-hand," Xinhua quoted Tedros as saying.
"I'm in contact in the Minister of health and have assured him that we're ready to do all that's needed to stop the spread of Ebola quickly. We are working with our partners to send more staff, equipment and supplies to the area."
An outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Bikoro health zone, Equateur Province, was declared four days ago.
The location is 250 km from Mbandaka, capital of Equateur Province in an area of the country that is that is very hard to reach.
As of Friday, 34 Ebola cases have been reported in the area in the past five weeks, including two confirmed, 18 probable (deceased) and 14 suspected cases. Five samples were collected from five patients and two have been confirmed by the laboratory.
"This is the country's ninth Ebola outbreak and there is considerable expertise in-country," Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, was quoted as saying.
"However, any country facing such a threat may require international assistance."
The current response plan to the outbreak includes surveillance, case investigation, and contact tracing; community engagement and social mobilisation; case management and infection prevention and control; safe and dignified burials; research response including the use of ring vaccination and antivirals; and coordination and operations support.
"It is too early to judge the extent of this outbreak," said Dr Peter Salama, WHO deputy director-general for Emergency Preparedness and Response.
"However, early signs including the infection of three health workers, the geographical extent of the outbreak, the proximity to transport routes and population centres, and the number of suspected cases indicate that stopping this outbreak will be a serious challenge. This will be tough and it will be costly. We need to be prepared for all scenarios," he added.
For now the WHO has listed the risks to surrounding countries as moderate, and has already alerted those countries and is working with them on border surveillance and preparedness for potential outbreaks.
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Bihar CM Nitish Kumar takes oath as Rajya Sabha member
New Delhi (PTI): Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday took oath as a member of Rajya Sabha, marking the end of his two-decade rule in the eastern state and paving the way for a new chief minister.
The oath was administered by Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan in his chamber at a brief ceremony. The Chairman later welcomed him as a member of the Upper House and also on his return in Parliament.
Kumar took the oath in Hindi in the presence of Union Minister J P Nadda, who is also leader of the house, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Panchayati Raj Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ram Nath Thakur and Minister of State for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal.
Bihar deputy chief minister Samrat Chaudhary was also present at the oath-taking.
JDU leader and party's working president Sanjay Kumar Jha, Congress chief whip in Rajya Sabha Jairam Ramesh, besides BJP MP and former union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy and BJP chief whip in Lok Sabha Sanjay Jaiswal, were among those present during the oath-taking.
"Vice President of India and Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Shri C. P. Radhakrishnan, administered the oath to Shri Nitish Kumar as an elected Member of Rajya Sabha, from Bihar, at Parliament House today," the Vice President's office said on X, while sharing pictures of the oath-taking.
After the oath-taking, Kumar came out of the new Parliament building and spoke about the time he was a member of the Lok Sabha and sat in the old Parliament building.
As Kumar assumes the Rajya Sabha role, it marks the end of his long two-decade rule in Bihar. Kumar will soon resign as chief minister and the NDA is likely to elect a new chief minister of Bihar on April 14.
He has already resigned as a member of the State Legislative Council on March 30 after he was elected to Rajya Sabha.
The JD(U) supremo was elected to the Upper House of Parliament on March 16, and he had to quit as an MLC in the 14-day period after his election.
