EBOLA/EVD [to 1 August 2015]
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC); “Threat to international peace and security” (UN Security Council)

Ebola Situation Report – 29 July 2015
[Excerpts]
SUMMARY
:: There were 7 confirmed cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD) reported in the week to 26 July: 4 in Guinea and 3 in Sierra Leone. This is the lowest weekly total for over a year, and comes after 8 consecutive weeks during which case incidence had plateaued at between 20 and 30 cases per week. Although this decline in case incidence is welcome, it is too early to tell whether it will be sustained. There have been several high-risk events in both Guinea and Sierra Leone in the past 14 days, and past experience has shown that it can take a single high-risk case or missed contact to spark a new cluster of cases. In addition, there are over 2000 contacts still within their 21-day follow-up period in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, representing a substantial residual risk of further cases. Refinements to the response continue to yield improvements, with recent weeks seeing a higher proportion of cases arising from contacts and a lower proportion of cases identified post-mortem than at any time previously, but the continued occurrence of high-risk transmission events means that an increase in case incidence in the near term is a strong possibility…

COUNTRIES WITH WIDESPREAD AND INTENSE TRANSMISSION
:: There have been a total of 27,748 reported confirmed, probable, and suspected cases of EVD in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone (figure 1, table 1) up to 26 July, with 11,279 reported deaths (this total includes reported deaths among probable and suspected cases, although outcomes for many cases are unknown). A total of 4 new confirmed cases were reported in Guinea and 3 in Sierra Leone in the week to 26 July…

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WHO: World on the verge of an effective Ebola vaccine
News release
Geneva ¦ 31 July 2015 – Results from an interim analysis of the Guinea Phase III efficacy vaccine trial show that VSV-EBOV (Merck, Sharp & Dohme) is highly effective against Ebola. The independent body of international experts – the Data and Safety Monitoring Board – that conducted the review, advised that the trial should continue. Preliminary results from analyses of these interim data are published today in the British journal The Lancet.

“This is an extremely promising development,” said Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization. “The credit goes to the Guinean Government, the people living in the communities and our partners in this project. An effective vaccine will be another very important tool for both current and future Ebola outbreaks.”

While the vaccine up to now shows 100% efficacy in individuals, more conclusive evidence is needed on its capacity to protect populations through what is called “herd immunity”. To that end, the Guinean national regulatory authority and ethics review committee have approved continuation of the trial.

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UNMEER: Statement by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the transition of UN Ebola emergency response
New York/Geneva, 31 July 2015
As we continue to actively strive to end the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, we have reached an important milestone in the global Ebola response.

The UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response – UNMEER – will close on 31 July. The Mission has achieved its core objective of scaling up the response on the ground and establishing unity of purpose among responders in support of the nationally led efforts. As of 1 August, oversight of the UN system’s Ebola emergency response will fully be led by the World Health Organization (WHO), under the direct authority of the WHO Director-General. UN agencies, funds and programmes, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the UN Mission in Liberia and national and international partners have undertaken the necessary steps, to enable this seamless transition.

I have determined that, to maintain the high-level, dedicated UN leadership needed to get to zero cases, the Ebola Crisis Managers will remain in the countries under the oversight of WHO and with the support of the UN Resident Coordinators and UN country teams. In Liberia, this high-level UN leadership for the Ebola emergency response will be provided by my Deputy Special Representative and Resident Coordinator, with the support of the UN country team. My Special Envoy on Ebola will continue to provide strategic guidance for the response.

The United Nations remains steadfast in its commitment to supporting the Governments of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone in getting to and staying at zero cases. We have made considerable progress, but the crisis is not yet over. At this critical juncture, additional resources are needed by the United Nations and partners to sustain full support to nationally led efforts to end the outbreak and to support recovery activities in affected countries. I therefore urge Member States to sustain the financial and political support necessary to end the outbreak.