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June 4 (Reuters) - The Pan American Health Organization said on Thursday it is stepping up efforts to help countries across the Americas to strengthen their preparedness for Ebola, although the risk of the disease remains low in the region.
The agency has activated its incident management system and is working with health ministries to strengthen surveillance, testing and infection control, so countries can rapidly detect and manage cases.
The organization is preparing shipments of materials and reagents for molecular detection of Bundibugyo ebolavirus to selected countries with appropriate biosafety capacity, based on risk assessments, it said.
A rare strain of Ebola known as Bundibugyo has prompted the World Health Organization to declare a public health emergency of international concern.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has reported 344 confirmed cases and 60 confirmed deaths, along with 116 suspected cases under investigation.
Confirmed cases have been reported in several provinces, including Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu. Uganda has reported 15 confirmed cases, including one death.
"Even with low risk, countries must be ready to detect and respond quickly to any possible importation to protect health workers and communities, and to prevent further transmission," said Dr. Ciro Ugarte, director of health emergencies at PAHO.
The agency is also facilitating international collaboration to ensure timely laboratory analysis through the referral of samples to specialized regional laboratories.
PAHO also reiterated that countries should strengthen preparedness systems without imposing restrictions on travel or trade.
(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
