Dr Chan said that to date, more than 60
health care workers have lost their lives in the
outbreak
The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is spreading
faster than efforts to control it, World Health
Organization (WHO) head Margaret Chan has
said.
She told a summit of regional leaders that
failure to contain it could be “catastrophic” in
terms of lives lost.
But she said the virus, which has claimed 729
lives in four West African countries since
February, could be stopped if well managed.
Ebola kills up to 90% of those infected.
It spreads by contact with infected blood,
bodily fluids, organs – or contaminated
environments.
Initial flu-like symptoms can lead to external
haemorrhaging from areas like eyes and gums,
and internal bleeding which can lead to organ
failure.
Dr Chan was meeting the leaders of the worst-
affected countries – Guinea, Liberia and Sierra
Leone – to launch a new $100m (£59m; 75m
euro) Ebola response plan.
Ebola since 1976
“This meeting must mark a turning point in the
outbreak response,” Dr Chan said at the
summit in Guinea’s capital, Conakry.
“Cases are occurring in rural areas which are
difficult to access, but also in densely
populated capital cities,” she said, explaining
that the outbreak was the world’s deadliest and
largest in terms of geographical areas.
Ebola virus disease (EVD)
Symptoms include high fever, bleeding and
central nervous system damage
Fatality rate can reach 90%
Incubation period is two to 21 days
There is no vaccine or cure
Supportive care such as rehydrating
patients who have diarrhoea and vomiting
can help recovery
Fruit bats are considered to be virus’
natural host
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Source: BBC
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