Ebola deaths number 2793
The UN health agency says a total of 5762 people have been infected in the west Africa Ebola epidemic, with 2793 dying from the disease.
SBS.com.au
23 Sep 2014
The deadliest Ebola epidemic ever has now killed 2793 in west Africa, the World Health Organization says.
The UN health agency said on Monday that a total of 5762 people had been infected in five west African countries as of September 18.
Guinea, where the outbreak began at the start of the year, and neighbouring Liberia and Sierra Leone by far account for most of the cases and continue to see ballooning numbers.
Liberia has been especially hard-hit, with 3022 cases and 1578 deaths alone.
At the same time “the outbreaks in Senegal and Nigeria are pretty much contained”, WHO said in a statement on Monday.
Senegal has not reported any new cases of the deadly virus since it registered its first and only case on August 29 – a Guinean student who has since recovered.
And Nigeria, where 21 people have been infected, eight of whom have died, has not reported any new cases since September 8, WHO pointed out.
The WHO, meanwhile, said that a meeting of its Ebola emergency committee last week had determined that the outbreak remained a “public health emergency of international concern”.
The committee reiterated its opposition to general bans on international travel or trade, although people infected with Ebola or who had had contact with Ebola patients should not be permitted to travel, WHO said.
Blocking flights to or from affected areas and other travel restrictions only serve to “isolate affected countries, resulting in detrimental economic consequences, and hinder relief and response efforts risking further international spread”, it warned.
The emergency committee also stressed that in cases where measures such as quarantines are deemed necessary, countries must ensure that “they are proportionate and evidence-based”.
