African troops deployed to contain potentially ‘catastrophic’ Ebola outbreak

Sunday, August 3, 2014
By Paul Martin

RT.com
August 02, 2014

The spread of the deadly Ebola virus in West Africa is outpacing efforts to contain it. African leaders have agreed on tougher measures to stop the disease, while the US is preparing facilities to treat its two infected citizens.

“This outbreak is moving faster than our efforts to control it,” WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said Friday, addressing the presidents of Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Côte d’Ivoire at a summit in the capital of Guinea, Conakry. She warned that a failure to contain the epidemic would result in “catastrophic” consequences in terms of a huge death toll and economic disruption.

“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.”

The leaders promised to deploy additional security forces to isolate the regions most affected by the disease, ban transportation and impose strict controls in international airports.

The promise marked a turning point for Guinea, which previously resisted taking costly tough steps to stop the contamination.

Other countries are taking their own steps to ward off the deadly virus, which infected at least 1,323 people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone and killed 729 of the sufferers. The Dubai-based Emirates Airlines suspended all flights to Guinea on Saturday, due to the Ebola outbreak.

“The safety of our passengers and crew is of the highest priority and will not be compromised,” said Emirates, which was the first large international carrier to stop flights to the Ebola-affected regions.

The Rest…HERE

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