Ebola: US ban on travellers from DRC, Uganda or South Sudan not the solution'

A US travel ban targeting people who have been in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan in the prior 21 days has been criticized as potentially worsening the Ebola outbreak. The outbreak continues to spread, including a new case in South Kivu, an area controlled by armed rebel groups. The ban has disrupted the DRC men’s football team’s World Cup preparations and caused a flight to Detroit to be diverted to Canada after a traveler from the DRC was onboard. Africa CDC said generalized restrictions are not a solution, warning they can create fear, damage economies, discourage transparency, complicate humanitarian and health operations, and push movement into informal, unmonitored routes. No vaccine or treatment exists for the Bundibugyo strain, reflecting structural injustice in global health innovation.

"A US travel ban for people coming from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda or South Sudan in response to the Ebola outbreak could make the situation worse, critics have warned. Declared a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday, the outbreak continues to spread with a new case reported in the DRC's South Kivu province, an area under the control of armed rebel groups. The American travel ban, which applies to non-US passport holders who have been in any of the three countries in the past 21 days, has caused disruption to the DRC men's football team's World Cup preparations."

"Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said that while it fully recognises the sovereign responsibility of every government to protect the health and security of its people ... generalised travel restrictions and border closures are not the solution to outbreaks. The body said: Such measures can create fear, damage economies, discourage transparency, complicate humanitarian and health operations, and divert movement toward informal and unmonitored routes potentially increasing public health risks rather than reducing them."

"There is no vaccine or treatment available to fight the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola responsible for the central Africa outbreak. Africa CDC said this highlighted a deeper structural injustice in global health innovation: the Bundibugyo Ebolavirus was identified nearly two decades ago, yet no licensed vaccines or therapeutics specific to this strain exist today. Africa CDC believes that if this disease had predominantly threatened wealthier regions of the world, medical countermeasures would likely already be"

Read at www.theguardian.com