Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention 11d ago

In this interview with Al Jazeera, Dr. Jean Kaseya, Director General of Africa CDC, discusses the current status of the Ebola (Bundibugyo virus disease) outbreak and the urgent need for a strengthened and coordinated continental response. He highlights key challenges in the response, including significant gaps in contact tracing, with thousands of contacts still unaccounted for, increasing the risk of further transmission across affected areas. Dr. Kaseya emphasizes that in the absence of a vaccine or specific treatment, Africa’s strongest tools remain rapid surveillance, contact tracing, laboratory testing, and strong community engagement. Africa CDC is working closely with Member States, WHO, and partners to scale up field operations, strengthen coordination, and close critical surveillance gaps to stop the outbreak. This interview underscores the importance of urgent, collective, and coordinated action to protect communities and strengthen Africa’s health security systems.