Transit flights from affected countries suspended

Public Health and Transport officials met on August 14, 2014 in Yaounde to strategise against the dreadful disease.

Henceforth, all flights from countries affected by the deadly Ebola virus will not be allowed to land on Cameroonian soil till further notice in a bid to check the spread of the disease into the country.

The decision was taken at the end of an extraordinary meeting of the National Committee for Epidemics and Emergency Health that held on Thursday August 14, 2014 in Yaounde.

The meeting was co-presided by the Minister of Public Health, André Mama Fouda, and the Secretary of State for Transport, Mefiro Oumarou.

Speaking at the opening, Minister André Mama Fouda said even though no case has been reported in Cameroon, the risk of importation of the epidemic was real in the country. He said in preparation for an eventual emergence of the disease, surveillance has been tightened in all health districts especially at the country's borders, airports and ports.

The surveillance is being carried out within the framework of a network of partnership and sharing of views bringing together not only countries hit by the epidemic but also other African countries that are exposed.

The members also decided to further strengthen epidemiology surveillance in all borders of Cameroon, limit movement by air, sea and land from risky zones to the country and vice versa and submit all passengers to checks in accordance with measures in force to fight against the propagation of Ebola virus.

The Ebola deadly fever that broke up in September 2013 in Guinea was later spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone and recently in Nigeria which shares a long land and sea border with Cameroon.

As at August 13, these countries notified 1,848 cases; 1,176 confirmed, 486 probable and 186 suspected cases.

In all, 1,013 deaths have been registered. Due to the situation, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has classified the Ebola epidemic as a global public health emergency.

The meeting in Yaounde took place in the presence of the Minister of Communication, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, as well as actors of the transport sector, notably officials of national aeronautics and ports authorities, international airports, the Limbe and Kribi seaports as well as officials of air companies serving West Africa.