WHO Chief Urges Review of Ebola Travel Bans

Kathmandu. World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has urged some countries to reconsider travel bans and border closures imposed due to the Ebola outbreak spreading in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.

Speaking at a joint press conference in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province in Congo, he said such bans not only make disease control efforts difficult but can also weaken transparency and trust. He emphasized the need to re-evaluate the bans, stating that 'trust and transparency are the basis for saving lives.'

According to the World Health Organization chief, although there are limited fully recognized vaccines or specific medicines for Ebola, there is a possibility that many patients can recover if timely quality treatment is available.

According to his statement, the purpose of his visit to Bunia is also to communicate directly with the affected communities, where more than a thousand suspected cases have been reported so far.

Meanwhile, more cases have been confirmed in Uganda due to new infections. According to the Ministry of Health, there are a total of nine confirmed cases after two new infections were found in the capital Kampala.

According to Congo's Health Minister Roger Kamba, the country aims to control the outbreak within the next four to six months. According to him, the main priority is to limit the infection to the three affected provinces: Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu.

He mentioned that testing capacity has improved, stating that there is no delay in testing at the laboratory now. He also provided information that out of about nine hundred samples tested, about two hundred and sixty have been positive, and the capacity to test two hundred to three hundred samples daily exists.