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Written By: Editorial Team | Updated : September 26, 2014 12:18 PM IST
The Department of Health (DOH), executive department of the South African government assigned to health issues, in South Africa Thursday announced to be seeking a sum of 250 million rand (about 24 million dollars) for relief assistance in the Ebola-hit nations.
The main objective of the Ebola Response Fund is to support South Africa's efforts to assist the worst hit nations and halt the social and humanitarian crisis emerging in West Africa. The DOH is seeking assistance from the South Africa's private sector to collect the fund that is set up by the department last month, Xinhua quoted department's spokesperson Joe Maila as saying Friday.
The DOH will also be working with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to coordinate and harmonise support as a response to the Ebola outbreak, Maila said. The SA government has already committed 32.5 million rand (about 3 million dollars) to the fund.
The funds will be used to support the immediate response, including set up a 40-bed Ebola treatment unit in Sierra Leone, provision of qualified people to staff the treatment unit, strengthening the surveillance system and database, supporting social mobilisation efforts in the communities in affected countries, expanding laboratory capacity, and project management. (Read: Ebola and MERS biggest threat to Hajj pilgrims this year)
'A pledge to donate money to the Ebola Response Fund will go a long way into helping Africa tackle this social and humanitarian crisis,' Matsoso said. 'We are counting on South Africa's private sector to actively support this attempt to stop the spread of the Ebola virus across the continent. 'We believe that corporate South Africa will respond positively to this clarion call to assist the affected countries,' she added.
Here s are some interesting facts about the Ebola virus that make it so deadly
It can kill within seven days: Unlike other viruses (like HIV) that can remain dormant in a person for years without causing the disease, Ebola violently multiplies until the viral particles are amplified to about 100 million viral particles in a droplet of blood. Further, without resting in a dormant stage the virus kills the host to find a new one. The fatality rate of the disease is 60 percent.
There is no vaccine or treatment available: What makes this virus deadly is the fact that researchers have not been able to find an effective treatment or preventive technique to combat the virus and the spread of the disease. The experimental drug Zmapp has shown promising results but the safety and efficacy of the drug are to be evaluated. So, as of now, neither do we have an effective form of therapy nor do we have a vaccine to prevent the disease.
Attacks every part of the human body: Ebola only needs a host cell that can help it produce multiple copies of itself. What worsens the condition is the fact that the virus does not need a specific type of cell to multiply (unlike other deadly diseases). According to studies, except for skeletal muscles and bones, the virus is known to infect every part of the human body. Connective tissues, the ones that hold your internal organs in place, are primary targets of the virus. Read more about 10 reasons that make the Ebola virus deadly for humans
With inputs from IANS
Photo source: Getty images
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