Editorial Team August 1, 2014 at 12:16 pm
The director-general of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and presidents of West African countries hit by the Ebola virus outbreak will Friday meet in Guinea to launch a new $100 million response plan. ‘The scale of the Ebola outbreak, and the persistent threat it poses, requires WHO and Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to take the response to a new level, and this will require increased resources, in-country medical expertise, regional preparedness and coordination,’ Xinhua quoted WHO Director-General Margaret Chan as saying in a statement.
The director-general of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and presidents of West African countries hit by the Ebola virus outbreak will Friday meet in Guinea to launch a new $100 million response plan. ‘The scale of the Ebola outbreak, and the persistent threat it poses, requires WHO and Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to take the response to a new level, and this will require increased resources, in-country medical expertise, regional preparedness and coordination,’ Xinhua quoted WHO Director-General Margaret Chan as saying in a statement.
‘The countries have identified what they need, and the WHO is reaching out to the international community to drive the response plan forward,’ she said. The Ebola Virus Disease Outbreak Response Plan in West Africa identified the need for several hundred more personnel to be deployed in affected countries to supplement over-stretched treatment facilities.
Hundreds of international aid workers, as well as more than 120 WHO staff, are already supporting national and regional response efforts. The WHO noted the greatest needs were clinical doctors and nurses, epidemiologists, social mobilisation experts and data managers. According to the WHO, the scale of the ongoing outbreak is unprecedented, with approximately 1,323 confirmed and suspected cases reported, and 729 deaths in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone since March.
What is ebola virus?
How is it transmitted? What are its causes?
According to scientists there are five different types of the virus, all of which have the potential to infect humans. According to the WHO (World Health Organisation) this disease can be transmitted from close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected animals. In humans the disease can be transmitted by the following methods:
- Coming into contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of an infected person.
- Healthcare workers may contract the disease through transmission as well through contact with infected bodily fluids.
- Handling the meat from infected animals.
- Contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person who has passed away.
Source: http://www.thehealthsite.com/news/ebola-outbreak-100-mn-response-plan-in-west-africa/
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