So far, eight possible cases have been reported in the Southern Ethiopia region, and laboratory investigations are underway to determine the exact cause.
Health workers are among those who have been infected, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a tweet.
What is viral hemorrhagic fever?
Viral hemorrhagic fever is a group of epidemic diseases caused by several different families of viruses and includes Marburg and Ebola virus diseases, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, and Lassa fever.
They can be relatively mild to seriously life-threatening and are characterized by sudden muscle and joint pain, fever, bleeding and shock from blood loss.
Bleeding, or bleeding, from orifices and internal organs is a prominent symptom in severe cases.
Transmission can occur in several ways, depending on the disease, including through contact with symptomatic patients, slaughtering practices, and direct contact with rodents or their droppings in the case of Lassa fever.
Medical professionals, supplies and funds
“WHO has deployed experts to the affected cities along with medicines and other materials to support care for people in needand personal protective equipment for health workers,” Tedros said.
The 11 technical officers will assist in several areas, including disease surveillance, investigation and testing, and infection prevention and control.
The agency is providing other essential supplies, including a rapidly deployable isolation tent to increase clinical care and management capacity.
Tedros has also released $300,000 from the WHO Contingency Fund for Emergencies to provide immediate support to national authorities.
“The WHO offices in Ethiopia and South Sudan are working closely together to prevent potential cross-border transmission,” he said, and the agency “stands ready to scale up support as and when needed.”
