No risk of Ebola spreading in Philippines — WHO

MANILA, Philippines — Despite the recent declaration of Ebola virus disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as a “public health emergency of international concern,” the risk of it spreading to the Philippines and other countries in Western Pacific remains low.

This was the assurance given by the World Health Organization (WHO) as it underscored the importance for everyone to remain vigilant against the disease.

In a statement, the WHO International Health Regulations Emergency Committee recommended that “no country should close its borders or place any restrictions on travel and trade” as it pointed out that such measures are usually implemented “out of fear and have no basis in science.”

“They push the movement of people and goods to informal border crossings that are not monitored, thus increasing the chances of the spread of disease. Most critically, these restrictions can also compromise local economies and negatively affect response operations from a security and logistics perspective,” it noted.

WHO added that national authorities should work with airlines and other transport and tourism industries to ensure that they do not exceed the WHO advice on international traffic.

According to WHO, the committee does not consider entry screening at airports or other ports of entry outside the African Region to be necessary.

The agency has encouraged countries across the region to continue to strengthen preparedness for health emergencies of all kinds by implementing the Asia Pacific Strategy for Emerging Diseases and Public Health Emergencies (APSED III) to strategically build sustainable capacity to ensure public health security in the region.

Ebola is a rare but severe, often fatal, illness first identified in 1976 after two simultaneous outbreaks in Yambuku, a village in Congo and in a remote area in Sudan.

The origin of the virus is unknown but evidence suggests that its host could be fruit bats or Pteropodidae.