The World Health Organization is meeting on Monday after several recent disease outbreaks stirred health concerns in the international community.
Hantavirus and Ebola will likely be among the top matters of discussion as leaders gather in Geneva this week. The U.S. is not among the member states assembling for WHO’s annual meeting, as President Donald Trump officially pulled Washington out of the organization in January, citing concerns over its handling of COVID-19, among other issues.
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Hantavirus
The WHO reported on May 13 that there are a total of 11 cases of hantavirus, including in France and Spain. Officials believe that the latest outbreak of disease, tied to rodents, originated earlier this month on the Dutch-owned cruise ship MV Hondius.
Authorities have sought to reassure the public that the virus is not comparable to highly contagious strains of COVID-19. Three deaths have been linked to the international Andes virus outbreak, none of them U.S. citizens.
Eighteen passengers on the vessel that were exposed to the virus were flown to the U.S. for quarantine, and one initially tested positive. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday that there are now no cases of hantavirus in the U.S., though it is monitoring 41 people for symptoms. The virus impact has continued, however, as Ottawa revealed Sunday that one of four Canadians who returned from a cruise ship had tested positive.
The WHO will discuss this week whether to launch a formal reform process for the “global health architecture,” a jumble of groups that do not always work together and often overlap, according to AFP.
“Among the issues to be explored are what is best done at the global and regional levels… and what is a national responsibility?” Helen Clark, co-chair of The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response and a former New Zealand prime minister, said.
“This current crisis, with the departure of key players, also allows … the WHO to re-examine its strategy with its members,” Canadian Health Minister Marjorie Michel added in comments to the outlet.
Ebola
In addition to hantavirus, a new Ebola outbreak has the world on edge. The WHO declared the disease a global emergency over the weekend, after more than 250 cases and 88 deaths were linked to the highly contagious and fatal virus, primarily in Congo. This strain of Ebola spreads through bodily fluids and is caused by the Bundibugyo virus. There is no approved vaccine or therapeutics for Bundibugyo.
The WHO warned that the “event requires international coordination and cooperation” to “scale up and strengthen operations and ensure ability to implement control measures.”
“There are significant uncertainties to the true number of infected persons and geographic spread associated with this event at the present time,” the WHO said in a statement Sunday.
The CDC announced Sunday that “a small number of Americans” had been directly impacted by the outbreak. At least six Americans have reportedly been exposed to the Ebola virus.
CDC SAYS CURRENTLY NO CASES OF HANTAVIRUS
The last major Ebola epidemic occurred between 2014 and 2016, primarily within West Africa, when nearly 28,000 people were infected with the virus. The disease eventually spread to the U.S., the United Kingdom, and Italy, killing over 11,000 people before it died out.
Amid the recent break, U.S. officials issued a Level Four travel advisory, its most severe level, warning against traveling to the Congo.
