Ebola in West Africa: US envoy condemns world response to Ebola fight

By: Editorial Team | | Published: October 27, 2014 6:20 pm

The US envoy to the United Nations criticised the level of international support for nations hit by Ebola as she began a tour today of west African nations struggling with the disease. Samantha Power said before arriving in Guinea that too many leaders were praising the efforts of countries like the United States and Britain to accelerate aid to the worst-affected nations, but were doing little themselves. Also Read - Ganesh Chaturthi 2020: 4 reasons an eco-friendly Ganesha is good for you

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‘The international response to Ebola needs to be taken to a wholly different scale than it is right now,’ Power told NBC News before boarding her plane. She said many countries ‘are signing on to resolutions and praising the good work that the United States and the United Kingdom and others are doing, but they themselves haven’t taken the responsibility yet to send docs, to send beds, to send the reasonable amount of money’. Also Read - Weight loss diet: How to eat healthy in a restaurant when you want to lose weight

After Guinea, Power will travel to Sierra Leone and Liberia. Those three nations account for the vast majority of the 4,922 deaths from the virus. She will also visit Ghana, where the UN mission fighting Ebola is based, before meeting EU officials in Belgium. More than 10,000 people have contracted the Ebola virus, according to the latest World Health Organization figures. Another west African country, Mali, was scrambling to prevent a wider outbreak after a two-year-old girl died from her infection following a 1,000-kilometre bus ride from Guinea. She was Mali’s first recorded case of the disease. (Read: 10 reasons that make the Ebola virus deadly for humans)

An American nurse who was placed in quarantine after caring for Ebola sufferers in Sierra Leone has complained she was made to feel ‘like a criminal’. Kaci Hickox, who later tested negative, was the first person to be placed under a mandatory 21-day quarantine for medical staff returning to parts of the US who may have had contact with Ebola patients in west Africa. The new rules took effect in New York and New Jersey on Friday, the same day Hickox returned.

‘This is not a situation I would wish on anyone, and I am scared for those who will follow me,’ Hickox wrote in The Dallas Morning News. ‘I am scared about how health care workers will be treated at airports when they declare that they have been fighting Ebola in west Africa. I am scared that, like me, they will arrive and see a frenzy of disorganization, fear and, most frightening, quarantine.’ In response, Ambassador Power expressed concern that the new quarantine policies were ‘haphazard and not well thought out’. She said there was a danger the new regulations could set back the fight against the virus. (Read: What is the Ebola virus disease survival rate?)

Here are some of the frequently asked questions (FAQs) with answers about the deadly Ebola disease –

How is the Ebola virus disease caused?

The Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a contagious disease caused by infection with one of the four strains of the Ebola virus. The Ebola virus belongs to the family of Filoviridae and the viral strains with potential for infection in humans are Zaire, Bundibugyo, Tai Forest and Sudan virus.

How does it spread?

The Ebola virus spreads through direct contact with the body fluids (semen, sweat, saliva and blood), infected objects (needles) and close skin contact with an infected person. It can also be transmitted through close contact with infected animals (handling the meat) and consumption of uncooked meat. Read more about Ebola facts frequently asked questions (FAQ)

With inputs from PTI

Photo source: Getty images

Published : October 27, 2014 6:20 pm

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