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The head of the World Health Organisation has said the Ebola outbreak in West Africa is moving faster than efforts to control it.
Margaret Chan said governments may need to impose restrictions on population movements and public gatherings, and use police to guarantee the security of Ebola response teams.
The disease has killed 729 people in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, with the number of cases exceeding 1,330.
*LATEST UPDATE: Saturday/02/ August/ 2014:
Dubai's Emirates has suspended flights to Guinea, one of the west African countries affected by an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus.
*LATEST UPDATE: Saturday/02/ August/ 2014:
Dubai's Emirates has suspended flights to Guinea, one of the west African countries affected by an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus.
Flights would be suspended from today until further notice, the airline said in a statement on its website.
"The safety of our passengers and crew is of the highest priority and will not be compromised," it said
The Ebola outbreak, which began in Guinea and has spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone, has killed more than 700, making it the deadliest since the virus was discovered almost 40 yearsago.
International airlines association IATA said on Thursday the World Health Organization was not recommending travel restrictions or border closures due to the outbreak.
It said there would be a low risk to other passengers if an infected person flew.
Some pan-African carriers have suspended operations to Liberia and Sierra Leone, where Emirates does not fly.
West African leaders agreed yesterday to take stronger measures to try to bring Ebola under control and prevent it spreading outside the region.
Sierra Leone on Wednesday declared a state of emergency and called in troops to isolate Ebola victims.
Emirates said any further actions in connection with the outbreak would be "guided by the advice and updates from the government and international health authorities".
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Ms Chan said the virus can be contained, but said the demands created by Ebola in West Africa outstrip the affected countries' capacity to respond.
She said: "If the situation continues to deteriorate, the consequences can be catastrophic in terms of lost lives but also severe socio-economic disruption and a high risk of spread to other countries."
Ms Chan described the outbreak as "by far the largest ever in the nearly four-decade history of this disease".
"It is taking place in areas with fluid population movements over porous borders, and it has demonstrated its ability to spread via air travel, contrary to what has been seen in past outbreaks.
"Cases are occurring in rural areas which are difficult to access, but also in densely populated capital cities."
The WHO has convened an emergency committee on 6-7 August to decide if Ebola constitutes a public health emergency of international concern and to recommend measures to tackle it.
Meanwhile, the leader of Guinea's Ebola task force has said that moves by Liberia and Sierra Leone to contain the disease may have the opposite effect.
Liberia has put in place several measures, including closing all schools and some government departments, as well as possibly quarantining affected communities.
Sierra Leone declared a state of emergency and called in troops to isolate Ebola victims.
"Currently, some measures taken by our neighbours could make the fight against Ebola even harder," said Aboubacar Sidiki Diakit before a meeting of heads of state from the three West African nations to coordinate a regional response.
"When children are not supervised, they can go anywhere and make the problem worse. It is part of what we will be talking about."
The outbreak of the virus, for which there is no known cure, began in the forests of eastern Guinea in February, but Sierra Leone now has the highest number of cases.
The haemorrhagic virus can kill up to 90% of those infected, though the fatality rate in this epidemic is about 60%.
In the final stages, its symptoms include external bleeding, internal bleeding, vomiting and diarrhoea - at which point Ebola becomes highly contagious.
The WHO said yesterday it would launch a €75m response plan.
The United States said it was providing material and technical support to the three countries and further assistance will be discussed next week.
The head of the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has also announced plans to send an extra 50 health experts to help efforts to control the epidemic.
British public health officials have issued a warning to doctors to watch for warning signs of the deadly Ebola virus as fears grow that the disease may appear on the shores of the UK.
* NEW UPDATE: LINK:
www.abcnews.go.com/health/ebola-patients-coming-us-safe/story?id=24804000
* NEW UPDATE: LINK:
www.abcnews.go.com/health/ebola-patients-coming-us-safe/story?id=24804000
The tropical disease has killed more than 670 people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone and took the life of US citizen Patrick Sawyer in Lagos, Nigeria.
Dr Brian McCloskey, director of global health at Public Health England, said that the government agency was taking action to ensure that the virus did not affect the UK population.
"[It is] the largest outbreak of this disease to date," he said. "And it's clear the outbreak is not under control.
"We have alerted UK medical practitioners about the situation in West Africa and requested they remain vigilant for unexplained illness in those who have visited the affected area."
Dr McCloskey said the death of Patrick Sawyer, after falling ill on a plane from Liberia to Nigeria, is a "cause for concern". On his route, he made a stopover in Ghana and changed planes in Togo before finally reaching his destination.
There is a possibility that Sawyer passed the disease to anyone sitting close to him on the plane or who used the toilet after him.
However, the doctor said that health officials were using "prepatory thinking rather than alarm".
Professor David Heymann, head of the Centre on Global Health Security at Chatham House in London, condemned the lack of international cooperation on the issue, which allowed an Ebola victim to fly out of an affected area.
"There has been a lack of international cooperation as to the recommendations of what needs to be done [to stop the disease spreading] – and much greater collaboration is needed.
"But at the same time its false to say that border controls can stop infections from spreading – you can be not showing symptoms or even travel when you have symptoms and keep them hidden, as has happened with doctors in the past."
The highly contagious disease is one of the deadliest in the world and does not yet have a known cure.
The symptoms of the virus include fever, sore throat, diarrhea and internal and external bleeding, with a 90% fatality rate.
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*The European Union has allocated an extra €2 million to fight the Ebola outbreak spiralling out of control in West Africa, bringing total EU funding to €3.9m.
"The level of contamination on the ground is extremely worrying and we need to scale up our action before many more lives are lost," said the EU's Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva.
Ms Georgieva called for a "sustained effort from the international community to help West Africa deal with this menace".
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The department of Foreign Affairs has updated its travel advice for Irish citizens heading to Nigeria, following confirmation of a case of Ebola.
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*The European Union has allocated an extra €2 million to fight the Ebola outbreak spiralling out of control in West Africa, bringing total EU funding to €3.9m.
"The level of contamination on the ground is extremely worrying and we need to scale up our action before many more lives are lost," said the EU's Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva.
The EU has deployed experts on the ground to help victims and try to prevent contagion.
Ms Georgieva called for a "sustained effort from the international community to help West Africa deal with this menace".
To date the epidemic has caused 670 deaths and 1,200 cases in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, among the world's poorest countries.
The World Health Organisation says this is the largest recorded outbreak in terms of cases, deaths and geographical coverage.
The EU said the risk of the virus spreading to Europe was currently low, since most cases are in remote areas in the affected countries and those who are ill or in contact with the disease are encouraged to remain isolated.
However, there has also been particular concern after Nigeria reported what is thought to be its first death from the disease on Friday.
American Patrick Sawyer, 40, developed symptoms on board a flight from Liberia to Nigeria.
Mr Sawyer, who was of Liberian descent, had been on his way home to the US. His sister has also died of the disease.
Mr Sawyer is said to have made multiple flights from Liberia to Nigeria. The disease can have a fatality rate of up to 90%, and there is no treatment or vaccine.
Health workers tackling the outbreak in the region have been especially vulnerable to contracting the disease.
Dr Sheik Humarr Khan, who had been hailed as a national hero for his work treating patients with Ebola in Sierra Leone, died yesterday after being quarantined in hospital in the country.
Two US health workers - a doctor and a missionary - are also in hospital in neighbouring Liberia after contracting the disease, prompting two US missionary groups to evacuate non-essential personnel from the country.
Health officials in the UK have been ordered to be on the lookout for the virus as the government's emergencies committee will meet to discuss the "serious threat" emerging from the outbreak.
Two people have been assessed for the virus in Britain.
A man was checked over in Birmingham but tests for the deadly virus proved negative, a Department of Health spokeswoman said.
Reports suggest the man was tested earlier this week after he travelled from Benin in Nigeria via Paris.
Meanwhile, another man visited a separate UK hospital over fears he had the virus.
The man, who attended Charing Cross Hospital in west London, was assessed but doctors ruled out the need for an Ebola test, the spokeswoman added.
British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said that although there had been no cases in the UK, he would be chairing the government's Cobra emergencies committee later today to assess the situation.
The department of Foreign Affairs has updated its travel advice for Irish citizens heading to Nigeria, following confirmation of a case of Ebola.
The government of Africa’s most populous country confirmed this evening that the virus caused the death of a Liberian national who died in quarantine in Lagos.
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NEW UPDATE: * DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — No one knows for sure just how many people Patrick Sawyer came into contact with the day he boarded a flight in Liberia, had a stopover in Ghana, changed planes in Togo, and then arrived in Nigeria, where authorities say he died days later from Ebola, one of the deadliest diseases known to man.
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NEW UPDATE: * DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — No one knows for sure just how many people Patrick Sawyer came into contact with the day he boarded a flight in Liberia, had a stopover in Ghana, changed planes in Togo, and then arrived in Nigeria, where authorities say he died days later from Ebola, one of the deadliest diseases known to man.
Now health workers are scrambling to trace those who may have been exposed to Sawyer across West Africa, including flight attendants and fellow passengers.
Health experts say it is unlikely he could have infected others with the virus that can cause victims to bleed from the eyes, mouth and ears. Still, unsettling questions remain: How could a man whose sister recently died from Ebola manage to board a plane leaving the country? And worse: Could Ebola become the latest disease to be spread by international air travel?
Sawyer's death on Friday has led to tighter screening of airline passengers in West Africa, where an unprecedented outbreak that emerged in March has killed more than 670 people in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. But some health authorities expressed little confidence in such precautions.
"The best thing would be if people did not travel when they were sick, but the problem is people won't say when they're sick. They will lie in order to travel, so it is doubtful travel recommendations would have a big impact," said Dr. David Heymann, professor of infectious diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
"The important thing is for countries to be prepared when they get patients infected with Ebola, that they are isolated, family members are told what to do and health workers take the right steps."
The World Health Organization is awaiting laboratory confirmation after Nigerian health authorities said Sawyer tested positive for Ebola, WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said. The WHO has not recommended any travel restrictions since the outbreak came to light.
"We would have to consider any travel recommendations very carefully, but the best way to stop this outbreak is to put the necessary measures in place at the source of infection," Hartl said. Closing borders "might help, but it won't be exhaustive or foolproof."
The risk of travelers contracting Ebola is considered low because it requires direct contact with bodily fluids or secretions such as urine, blood, sweat or saliva, experts say. Ebola can't be spread like flu through casual contact or breathing in the same air.
Patients are contagious only once the disease has progressed to the point they show symptoms, according to the WHO. And the most vulnerable are health care workers and relatives who come in much closer contact with the sick.
Still, witnesses say Sawyer, a 40-year-old Liberian Finance Ministry employee en route to a conference in Nigeria, was vomiting and had diarrhea aboard at least one of his flights with some 50 other passengers aboard. Ebola can be contracted from traces of feces or vomit, experts say.
Sawyer was immediately quarantined upon arrival in Lagos — a city of 21 million people — and Nigerian authorities say his fellow travelers were advised of Ebola's symptoms and then were allowed to leave. The incubation period can be as long as 21 days, meaning anyone infected may not fall ill for several weeks.
Health officials rely on "contact tracing" — locating anyone who may have been exposed, and then anyone who may have come into contact with that person. That may prove impossible, given that other passengers journeyed on to dozens of other cities.
Patrick Sawyer had planned to visit his family in Minnesota next month to attend two of his three daughters' birthdays, his wife, Decontee Sawyer, told KSTP-TV in Minnesota.
"It's a global problem because Patrick could have easily come home with Ebola, easy," she said. The Associated Press left phone and email messages for her Monday.
International travel has made the spread of disease via airplanes almost routine. Outbreaks of measles, polio and cholera have been traced back to countries thousands of miles away. Even Ebola previously traveled the globe this way: During an outbreak in Ivory Coast in the 1990s, the virus infected a veterinarian who traveled to Switzerland, where the disease was snuffed out upon arrival and she ultimately survived, experts say.
Two American aid workers in Liberia have tested positive for the virus and are being treated there. U.S. health officials said Monday that the risk of the deadly germ spreading to the United States is remote.
The mere prospect of Ebola in Africa's most populous nation has Nigerians on edge.
In Nigeria's capital, Abuja, Alex Akinwale, a 35-year-old entrepreneur, said he is particularly concerned about taking the bus, which is the only affordable way to travel.
"It's actually making me very nervous. If I had my own car, I would be safer," he said. "The doctors are on strike, and that means they are not prepared for it. For now I'm trying to be very careful."
It's an unprecedented public health scenario: Since 1976, when the virus was first discovered, Ebola outbreaks were limited to remote corners of Congo and Uganda, far from urban centers, and stayed within the borders of a single country. This time, cases first emerged in Guinea, and before long hundreds of others were stricken in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Those are some of the poorest countries in the world, with few doctors and nurses to treat sick patients let alone determine who is well enough to travel. In Sawyer's case, it appears nothing was done to question him until he fell sick on his second flight with Asky Airlines. An airline spokesman would not comment on what precautions were being taken in the aftermath of Sawyer's journey.
Liberian Assistant Health Minister Tolbert Nyenswah told The Associated Press last week that there had been no screening at Liberia's Monrovia airport. That changed quickly over the weekend, when President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said a new policy on inspecting and testing all outgoing and incoming passengers will be strictly observed. She also announced that some borders were being closed and communities with large numbers of Ebola cases would be quarantined.
International travelers departing from the capitals of Sierra Leone and Guinea are also being checked for signs of fever, airport officials said. Buckets of chlorine are also on hand at Sierra Leone's airport in Freetown for disinfection, authorities said.
Still, detecting Ebola in departing passengers might be tricky, since its initial symptoms are similar to many other diseases, including malaria and typhoid fever.
"It will be very difficult now to contain this outbreak because it's spread," Heymann said. "The chance to stop it quickly was months ago before it crossed borders ... but this can still be stopped if there is good hospital infection control, contact tracing and collaboration between countries."
Nigerian authorities so far have identified 59 people who came into contact with Sawyer and have tested 20, said Lagos State Health Commissioner Jide Idris. Among them were officials from ECOWAS, a West African governing body, airline employees, health workers and the Nigerian ambassador to Liberia, he said. He said there have been no new cases of the disease.
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Associated Press Medical Writer Maria Cheng reported from London. Jonathan Paye-Layleh in Monrovia, Liberia; Clarence Roy-Macaulay in Freetown, Sierra Leone; Erick Kaglan in Lome, Togo; and Heather Murdock in Abuja, Nigeria, also contributed to this report.
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Nigeria’s Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu told journalists that “thorough medical tests” had confirmed “the virus of Ebola” as the cause of death.
Irish travelers are being advised to contact the embassy of Nigeria in advance of their journey, and to read the World Health Organisation factsheet on Ebola.
Outbreak
The 40-year-old Liberian man, who died overnight, worked for his country’s government and had travelled to Nigeria from Monrovia by air via Togo’s capital Lome.
His final destination was the southern city of Calabar where he was scheduled to attend a meeting organised by the west African bloc known as ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States).
Lagos government officials have previously said that he arrived at the city’s international airport on Sunday.
He was suffering from severe vomiting and diarrhea upon arrival and was transported directly to hospital, according to the minister.
The patient “avoided contact with the general public” between the airport and the hospital and “there was no time for him to mingle in Lagos,” he added.
“All the passengers that the patient came in contact with have been traced and are being investigated,” in a bid to contain any spread of the virus across the city of more than 20 million people, Chukwu said.
The minister insisted that health officials had made direct contact with everyone on board the flight and were monitoring their conditions but offered no explanation as to how that was done.
The Liberian was flying on the Togo-based ASKY Airlines. African airlines typically do not require detailed contact information from passengers and it was not immediately clear how Nigeria had succeeded in tracing everyone on board.
‘Red alert’
As of July 20, the number of Ebola cases recorded in the months-long epidemic stood at 1,093, including more than 660 deaths, according to the World Health Organisation.
Liberia has seen 127 fatalities.
Lagos, the largest city in sub-Saharan Africa, poses challenges to health officials seeking to contain a spread of the virus.
The congested city has terrible sanitation and a poor health system, especially in public hospitals which are grossly under-funded, badly equipped and regularly do not have electricity.
Chukwu said ministry specialists had been deployed at all major ports — both sea and air — to screen anyone suffering from symptoms associated with Ebola.
Border officials have been put on “red alert,” he said.
Ebola is a form of haemorrhagic fever which can have a 90-percent fatality rate.
It can fell victims within days, causing severe fever and muscle pain, vomiting and diarrhoea — and in some cases, organ failure and unstoppable bleeding.
Ebola is believed to be carried by animals hunted for meat, notably bats.
It spreads among humans via bodily fluids including sweat, meaning you can get sick from simply touching an infected person.
With no vaccine, patients believed to have caught the virus must be isolated to prevent further contagion.
Ebola first emerged in 1976 in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo, and is named after a river there.
Includes reporting from AFP.
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