The deadly Ebola virus is moving faster than efforts to
control it, the World Health Organization says. The
warning came at the launch of a $100 million response
plan to the epidemic.
The leaders of the three countries hardest hit by the
recent Ebola epidemic - Guinea, Sierra Leone and
Liberia - met on Friday in the Guinean capital,
Conakry, along with the head of the World Health
Organization, Dr Margaret Chan. Also at the meeting
was the President of Ivory Coast.
The group came together to launch a $100 million (74.5
million euro) response plan to counter the rapidly
spreading virus. The largest-ever recorded outbreak of
Ebola has killed at least 729 people since the beginning
of the year, including a number of doctors and other
health workers.
The leaders discussed the deployment of hundreds of
medical personnel to help overstretched workers and
facilities, as well as better prevention methods -
including better detection of cases and improved border
surveillance.
Chan told the West African leaders at the summit that
Ebola is moving "faster than our efforts to control it,"
warning that it could spread to other countries, causing
"catastrophic" loss of life and untold economic impacts.
She said the response so far to the epidemic was
"woefully inadequate," and described the outbreak as
"by far the largest ever in the nearly four-decade
history of this disease."
"If the situation continues to deteriorate, the
consequences can be catastrophic in terms of lost lives,
but also severe socioeconomic disruption and a high
risk of spread to other countries," Chan said.
"It is taking place in areas with fluid population
movements over porous borders, and it has
demonstrated its ability to spread via air travel,
contrary to what has been seen in past outbreaks," she
told the summit.
"Cases are occurring in rural areas which are difficult
to access, but also in densely populated capital cities.
This meeting must mark a turning point in the
outbreak response."
Response so far
Sierra Leone on Thursday declared a public health
emergency over the outbreak, and said it would
quarantine several areas for up to two months. Liberia
has closed all of its schools and sent government
workers on leave.
The latest outbreak of Ebola has infected at least 1,300
people, hit major cities and caused alarm over possible
spread to other nations. Friday's summit follows
another held between eleven West African nations at
the beginning of July in Ghana.
Ebola is a form of hemorrhagic fever that has killed
around two-thirds of those it has infected since it
emerged in 1976; other outbreaks have registered
fatality rates of up to 90 percent. The current outbreak
has a lower-than-average death rate but is
unprecedented in its geographical spread and has killed
the most people.
The virus, which has no vaccine or cure, is spread
through direct contact with bodily fluids. It causes
severe muscular pains, fever, headaches, and
unstoppable bleeding in the worst cases.
Dubai's Emirates airline became the first global carrier
to announce it was suspending flights to affected areas.
This followed a similar move earlier this week by
African regional airline ASky Airlines, after the death
of a customer - an American man of Liberian descent -
who had flown with the carrier several times.
Airports and border controls in the region and around
the world have enhanced their screening measures.
However health experts have said there is a lower risk
of catching Ebola from flying, because it isn't spread
through casual contact or breathing the same air in the
same way as influenza.