Marrakech - The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that deaths resulting from the Ebola virus have risen to 1,900, according to the BBC.
Marrakech – The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that deaths resulting from the Ebola virus have risen to 1,900, according to the BBC.
The areas of West Africa that are affected are Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia which have reported 3,500 declared cases of Ebola infection. Nigeria has seen two more cases in Port Harcourt, where experts say the chances of further cases are likely, and one case has been reported in Senegal. There is also an unrelated outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The WHO and Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) warned that the number of deaths from the epidemic is accelerating with a possible 20,000 people projected to be infected before the outbreak can be brought under control.
They added that some $600 million will be required to bring the virus under control. No vaccine is currently available, and experts say it will take time to develop it. The WHO says that international agencies are completely unprepared for the scale of the emergency, and MSF even calls for an organized military response to the emergency.
Many airlines have halted flights to Ebola-hit areas, although some flights have been reinstated. Royal Air Maroc is continuing to maintain flights to affected countries as an expression of solidarity, according to Royal Air Maroc President Driss Benhima.
The WHO and experts met today Thursday in Geneva to discuss possible treatments and the fast tracking of testing and production of vaccine. Morocco did not send an expert to Geneva.
