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Ebola virus outbreak spreading faster than efforts to control it: WHO

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ANI London
Last Updated : Aug 02 2014 | 12:06 PM IST

World Health Organisation has warned about Ebola virus outbreak is spreading faster than the efforts that have been made to control it.

The fatal virus sweeping West Africa is spreading at an alarming rate and threatening to cross international borders and the international agency has revealed that 60 doctors, nurses and health care workers have lost their lives desperately trying to save others, the Mirror reported.

Director General Margaret Chan revealed said that 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.

During an emergency meeting of the World Health Organisation, Chan told the presidents of Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast that this should a turning point in the outbreak response.

She said that the outbreak as the world's deadliest and largest in terms of geographical extent, she said governments may need to impose strict population movements and it is taking place in areas with fluid population movements over porous borders, and that it has demonstrated its ability to spread via air travel, contrary to what has been seen in past outbreaks.

The death toll has risen to more than 1,300, while the situation in West Africa required urgent action experience had shown that when well managed, an Ebola outbreak can be stopped and the latest 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 confirmed cases.

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First Published: Aug 02 2014 | 11:54 AM IST

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