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 The World Health Organization and medical charity Medicins Sans
Frontieres said on Friday the outbreak, which has killed 729 people
in four West African countries, was out of control and more
resources were urgently needed to deal with it.
WHO chief Margaret Chan told a meeting of the presidents of Guinea,
Liberia and Sierra Leone - the countries worst affected - that the
epidemic was outpacing efforts to contain it and warned of
catastrophic consequences in lost lives and economic disruption if
the situation were allowed to deteriorate.
"The presidents recognize the serious nature of the Ebola outbreak
in their countries," Chan said after the meeting. "They are
determined to take extraordinary measures to stop Ebola in their
countries."
In a communique after their talks, the leaders agreed to deploy
security forces to isolate the frontier regions where 70 percent of
the 1,323 cases have been detected.
They banned the transportation of anyone showings signs of disease
across borders, and pledged to introduce strict controls at
international airports to prevent the virus spreading outside the
region.
There was international alarm last week when a U.S. citizen died of
Ebola in Nigeria - Africa's most populous country - after flying
there from Liberia. Two people quarantined in Lagos after coming
into contact with him were released on Friday after they tested
negative for the disease.
The three leaders also agreed to step up efforts to protect local
healthcare workers and encourage them to return to work.
With healthcare systems struggling to cope with the highly
infectious disease, which requires rigorous precautions to stop it
spreading, more than 60 medical workers have lost their lives,
hampering efforts to tackle the outbreak.
Liberia has already put in place tough measures including closing
all schools and some government departments. Sierra Leone on
Wednesday declared a state of emergency and called in troops to
isolate Ebola victims.
However, Friday's agreement marked a reversal by Guinea, which had
previously resisted taking tough steps, saying the disease was under
control there.
"Somewhat drastic measures will be taken," Guinea's Cooperation
Minister Moustapha Koutoub Sano said. "These (border) prefectures
and communities will be isolated."
EMERGENCY COMMITTEE
The outbreak has prompted some international organizations to
withdraw. The U.S. Peace Corps has said it was withdrawing 340
volunteers from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
U.S. aid group Samaritans Purse said on Friday it would complete the
evacuation of its 60 international staff from Liberia over the
weekend. It said two American staff who contracted the disease in
Liberia were in a serious condition and would be medically evacuated
by early next week.
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Charity WaterAid said on Friday it was suspending its operations in
Liberia as well.
The WHO is launching a $100 million response plan and the United
States is providing material and technical support to the three
countries. Further assistance will be discussed at a U.S.-Africa
summit in Washington next week.
Guinea President Alpha Conde told Reuters he would represent Africa
in those Ebola talks. Sierra Leonean President Ernest Bai Koroma and
Liberia’s Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf announced this week they would
remain at home to tackle the crisis.
Chan appealed on Friday to the wider world to provide more medical
experts and funding. She pledged to take personal responsibility for
coordinating international response efforts and mobilizing the vast
support needed to fight the virus, which can kill up to 90 percent
of those infected.
The fatality rate in this epidemic is about 60 percent.
The WHO has convened an emergency committee on Aug. 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," Chan told the presidents.
Chan said cultural practices such as traditional burials and
deep-seated beliefs were a significant cause of the spread and
needed to change. In the final stages, its symptoms include external
and internal bleeding, vomiting and diarrhea - at which point Ebola
becomes highly contagious.
On Friday, the government of southeastern Nigeria's Anambra state
quarantined a mortuary containing the body of a Nigerian man who
died in Liberia while tests were conducted to determine the caused
of death.
(Additional reporting by Tom Miles in Geneva, Tim Cocks and Oludare
Mayowa in Lagos, Anamesere Igboeroteonwu in Onitsha, and Misha
Hussain, Writing by Tim Cocks and Felix Bate; Editing by Daniel
Flynn and Alison Williams)
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