The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that the deadly Ebola outbreak in West Africa is spiralling out of control and could spread to other countries.
Margaret Chan told the leaders of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia at a regional summit the response to the epidemic had been “woefully inadequate”, saying the outbreak was “moving faster than our efforts to control it”.
The leaders were in Guinean capital Conakry to organise the deployment of hundreds of extra medical personnel as part of $100 million emergency response to the epidemic.
“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,” Ms Chan said.
The outbreak is the worst since the disease was discovered in the mid-1970s, with 729 deaths in four different countries.
“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,” Ms Chan said.
“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.”
However, Ms Chan said the outbreak could be stopped and the public was not at high risk of infection.
Governments might need to restrict population movements and public gatherings, and use the police and civil defence forces to guarantee the security of response teams, she said.
With healthcare systems struggling to cope, more than 60 medical workers have lost their lives, hampering efforts to tackle the disease.
Two Americans working for aid group Samaritan’s Purse who contracted the disease in Liberia were in a serious condition and would be medically evacuated by early next week, the organisation said.
Ebola containment measures
Liberia has put in place measures including closing all schools and some government departments as well as possibly quarantining affected communities.
Sierra Leone has declared a state of emergency and called in troops to isolate Ebola victims.
However, the leader of Guinea’s Ebola taskforce said his country would not be following these moves.
“Some measures taken by our neighbours could make the fight against Ebola even harder,” Aboubacar Sidiki Diakite told Reuters, citing in particular the closure of schools.
“When children are not supervised, they can go anywhere and make the problem worse.”
The WHO is launching a $100 million response plan and the US is providing material and technical support to the three countries.
Further assistance will be discussed at a meeting in Washington next week.
The WHO has convened an emergency committee on August 6-7 to decide if the outbreak constitutes a public health emergency of international concern and to recommend measures to tackle it.
“The demands created by Ebola in West Africa outstrip your capacities to respond,” Ms Chan said.
In the final stages, its symptoms include external bleeding, internal bleeding, vomiting and diarrhoea – at which point Ebola becomes highly contagious.
Timeline: worst Ebola outbreak
AFP/Reuters