WHO: Ebola a “public health emergency” At a press conference Friday, the World Health Organization declared the #Ebola outbreak in West #Africa an international public health emergency, requiring an extraordinary response to stop its spread. The Director General of the #UN health agency, Dr. Margaret Chan, called the outbreak the largest, most severe and most complex in the nearly 40-year history of the disease. Watch the video for the outbreak of #Ebola: https://youtube/watch?v=DK1yNrOOTfc&list=UUgrNz-aDmcr2uuto8_DL2jg On Thursday, the #WHO said that it would convene a panel of experts in medical ethics next week to explore the use of experimental treatment for Ebola. Currently there is no registered medicine or vaccine against the virus, but there are several experimental options under development, Xinhua quoted Farhan Haq, the deputy UN spokesman, as saying. Meanwhile, the fight against the disease received a much-needed boost with the #China Health Development Planning Commission announcing that its scientists had identified antibody genes for the disease, which could help develop a vaccine. It added that the development of a diagnostic reagent is currently underway. Aid to Africa The Chinese government has also pledged to provide an additional 30 million yuan ($4.86 million) in humanitarian aid to the Ebola-ravaged West African nations of #Guinea, #Liberia, #SierraLeone and #GuineaBissau to help contain the outbreak. The aid, which is the second batch of Ebola relief from China, will mainly include protective equipment, patient monitors, sprays and medicines. In May, China sent a first batch of relief goods valued at one million yuan (around $162,000) each to the four nations. Border checks intensified Further, considering that nearly 20,000 Chinese nationals live in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, a number of preventative steps have been announced to prevent the virus from entering the country. - The government has ordered border control authorities to intensify checks with regard to inbound travelers. - Local medical institutions are required to report any confirmed or suspected Ebola cases directly to the National Health and Family Planning Commission within two hours. - The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, meanwhile has said that it would be halting the imports of special goods and animal products. Click on the attached infographic to learn more about the virus and the precautions each individual must take against it.
Posted on: Fri, 08 Aug 2014 14:00:01 +0000
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