WHO announces a “public health emergency” because of Ebola

The emergency committee of the World Health Organization (WHO) said that the current crisis of the Ebola virus is a “public health emergency” that has generated concern “at international level”.

The WHO General Director  Margaret Chan, said today that the outbreak is an “extraordinary event” which constitutes an international risk, for which she called on nations to cooperate together.

The WHO, however, said she considers it is not necessary to prohibit travelling or trading with Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia and Nigeria, countries affected by the outbreak, “unless it is, specifically, [the transfer] of infected people or that have been in contact with a patient”, said Deputy General Director of the Agency Keiji Fukuda.

Chan added that this statement is a warning to the world about the need for greater vigilance, but “in no way implies that many countries will be affected, only a small part of the African continent is currently affected”.

The latest report of the WHO, said that until Wednesday of this week there were 932 deaths from the virus in West Africa.