Next Ebola outbreak ‘inevitable’ but world better prepared: WHO

CONAKRY — A new outbreak of the Ebola virus is “inevitable” but new vaccine and rapid-response measures mean it will be more effectively contained, the head of the World Health Organisation said on Thursday.

The Ebola crisis that began in December 2013 killed 11 300 people in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia and has left thousands more survivors with long-term health problems.

The WHO was criticised at the time for responding too slowly and failing to grasp the gravity of the outbreak.

Speaking at an event in the Guinean capital dedicated to individuals who fought to control the disease in their communities, WHO chief Margaret Chan also thanked the Guinean government for its role in developing the vaccine, announced in December, but added a note of caution. “Scientists do not yet know exactly where in nature the Ebola virus hides between outbreaks, but nearly all experts agree that another outbreak is inevitable,” she said, speaking to an audience of scientists, Ebola response coordinators and dignitaries.

“When this occurs, the world will be far better prepared,” Chan added.

In a major clinical trial using an innovative “ring”, or group method, nearly 6 000 people in Guinea were given the test vaccine in 2015, during which not one of them contracted the disease.

Even with an “initially limited” first batch of the vaccine, Chan said, health authorities had another option in their arsenal “beyond isolation and quarantine”.

First identified in 1976 in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Ebola virus erupted periodically in outbreaks of up to a couple of hundred cases, mainly across west and east Africa. In early 2014, however, a handful of infections in southern Guinea mushroomed rapidly into an epidemic.

Chan emphasised that another positive outcome of the Ebola crisis was renewed focus and funding for vaccines against other contagious diseases, including the fatal Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) as well as the Lassa and Nipah viruses.

“These significant spillover effects strengthen the world’s collective defences against the never-ending threat from emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases,” she said.

Also speaking at the event, President Alpha Conde said it was “time Africa benefited from cutting-edge technology, notably in the field of biomedical sciences,” and called on industrialised nations to share their expertise. — AFP JOHANNESBURG — Three suspects are due to appear in the Pongola Magistrate’s Court in KwaZuluNatal for possession of more than R100m in drugs yesterday afternoon.

Police spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker said that the Pongola South African Police Service (SAPS) conducted an operation on Thursday after receiving information that a vehicle was entering the Golela border, which separates Swaziland and South Africa, carrying a large quantity of suspected heroine.

The vehicle was intercepted by police members on the N2 near Pongola, a few kilometres from the border.

“When the police searched the vehicle, they found 145 bags of a substance suspected to be heroine hidden in a concealed compartment of the vehicle.

“The drugs are estimated to be worth R101 million. Members of our forensics team were on the scene and immediately seized the drugs,” said Naicker.

The KwaZulu-Natal Acting Provincial Commissioner, Major-General Bheki Langa lauded the “Back to Basics” approach, as well as the swift reaction of the police.

“The suspects were intercepted before the drugs could be distributed.

“We are very pleased that this consignment will not reach our streets where it will cause untold damage,” he said in a statement.

The three suspects aged between 20 and 43 are expected to appear in the Pongola Magistrate’s Court for possession of drugs later yesterday. — Sapa