Public Health Wednesdays (PHW): Africa & Asia Health Check

June 11, 2019 Fatimaah Menefee

AFRICA: EBOLA & MALARIA

THE NEVER ENDING CASE OF EBOLA: DRC & UGANDA

Uploaded by BBC News BBC World on 2019-06-07.

Infected boy from the DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo) is now being treated in Uganda with Ebola.

The Uganda Ministry of Health confirmed an outbreak of Ebola on the border of the DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo). Health Security is a major concern for African states but yet majority of African States don’t include Health Security concerns in their foreign policy objectives. The border between both countries need constant testing on site for anyone coming into the country.

During the MERS outbreak, Japan made travelers go through rigorous screenings before entry. In some cases, depending on the country, Japan simply did not allow entry. Proactive measures in health security might not be PC but such measures will save lives and the economy.

The cases of Ebola in the DRC this week show a decrease(54 cases) compared to the 88 cases reported two weeks ago.

ALGERIA

Source: ISS Africa

Algeria is currently between the process of revolution and the growing pains towards the democracy transition. However, Algeria is now the fourth African country to be declared “MALARIA FREE”. The other African countries declared Malaria free are: Lesotho, Mauritius and Seychelles. This is worth celebrating in the fog of war.

ASIA- PAKISTAN HAS A HIV PROBLEM…

This is so beyond tragic, enough money for weapons but none for medical professionals. Irony, so many young brilliant minds leave Pakistan to be doctors in global north countries. My former boss was of Pakistani decent, brilliant and a resume that screamed “Global Health Professional”. The tragedy here is the additional role of stigma.
Public health education is so necessary. It must be communicated in a manner which EVERYONE in the community is clear on the illness/disease. Lastly, countries such as Pakistan refuse to discuss topics such as HIV in open dialogue with the population. Pakistan now has the second growing number of HIV cases in Asia.

AFRICAN SWINE FEVER

Source: Bloomberg

The African Swine Fever is harmless to humans but fatal to pigs. It has been reported in Vietnam, Hong Kong, Mongolia, Cambodia, and North Korea. In China, there was a case of frozen pork dumplings getting pulled from the shelves

There are also stronger consequences in the market with pork stocks

Click below for a current update on the African Swine from FAO

Here is a bit on the transmission of the transmission of the African Swine Fever. It is old but very educational.

http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/programmes/en/empres/disease_asf.asp African Swine Fever (ASF) is a viral disease is not harmful for people - but it does impact rural economies, their sources of income and culinary practices and, of course, a very large numbers of pigs.

See you next PHW!