The health situation is worrying in Côte d'Ivoire.

A case of Ebola has indeed been detected in the economic capital Abidjan.

This is the first since 1994, almost two months after the announcement of the end of the 2021 epidemic in neighboring Guinea, which is "extremely worrying", according to the WHO.

The Ivorian health authorities "were informed today (Saturday) by the Pasteur Institute of a positive case of Ebola virus disease after examination of a sample taken" Friday "from an 18-year-old girl of Guinean nationality" , the Minister of Health, Pierre Demba, told RTI national television.

He specified that this young woman had left the town of Labé in Guinea by road and had "arrived in Côte d'Ivoire on August 11".

Vaccines available

"This is an isolated and imported case", he assured, adding that the patient was "currently in isolation and supported at the treatment center for highly epidemic diseases of the University Hospital of Treichville", in Abidjan. . According to the minister, Côte d'Ivoire has vaccines against Ebola and "will carry out the vaccination of target groups, front-line health personnel, immediate contacts of the patient, security forces at our borders". The WHO for its part specified that “5,000 doses of anti-Ebola vaccine” obtained “to fight the epidemic in Guinea” were to be sent to Côte d'Ivoire.

An emergency interministerial meeting was held late Saturday afternoon in Abidjan under the chairmanship of Ivorian Prime Minister Patrick Achi. Among the measures taken are the reactivation of the Ebola virus surveillance and response system set up during the last epidemic in Guinea, the organization of "the follow-up of all the contacts identified, the pursuit of strict compliance with the barrier measures enacted against the Covid-19 which remain valid for Ebola virus disease ”and“ intense cross-border collaboration with Guinea ”.

"It is extremely worrying that this epidemic has been declared in Abidjan, a metropolis of more than four million inhabitants," said Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa.

"However, most of the global expertise in the fight against Ebola virus disease is located here on the continent, and Côte d'Ivoire can use this experience to accelerate the response," he said. -she adds.

Guinea and the WHO officially announced on June 19 the end of the second Ebola epidemic in this country, a few months after the reappearance of this disease quickly defeated thanks to the experience accumulated in 2013-2016 when it had made thousands of deaths.

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