The World Health Organization (WHO) today declared a public health emergency of "global" and urged the international community to mobilize against the Ebola epidemic in West Africa.
The emergency committee of the WHO, on Wednesday and Thursday met in Geneva, "unanimously considers that the conditions are right" to declare a "public health emergency of global reach," said the director general of the organization Margaret Chan.
In a situation that is aggravated, "a coordinated international response is essential to stop and reverse the international spread of Ebola," the committee.
The Ebola epidemic that has left since early this year at least 931 deaths among the 1,700 suspected cases detected, is the "most important and the most severe" in four decades, said Chan.
WHO is not yet declared quarantine in the affected countries -Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and to a lesser extent Nigeria to avoid aggravating their economic situation, but asked important control measures in its outlets.
This device is the third emergency WHO declared in 2009 after the outbreak of avian influenza in Asia, and last May by the development of polio in the Middle East.
The director estimated that West African countries affected by the epidemic "can not cope on their own" and urged "the international community to provide the necessary support."
Although the committee excluded impose travel restrictions or international trade, he said that "States must be prepared to detect and treat cases of sick" and "facilitate the evacuation of its citizens, including medical personnel, exposed to Ebola."
Following this announcement, the European Union described as "very weak," the spread of Ebola in the European continent and stressed that risk in the case, "unlikely" that the virus reaches the European continent, are "ready to face" .
Meanwhile, the State Department recommended Thursday Americans defer any "non-essential" travel to Liberia by Ebola.
WHO recommendations
The committee emphasizes that the heads of state of the countries concerned have to declare a state of emergency and "personally go to the country to provide information about the situation."
Keiji Fukuda, WHO assistant director-general responsible for the epidemic, said those affected have to stay 30 days in quarantine because the virus incubation time is 21 days.
People who are in contact with the sick except medical personnel has protectively dress should not travel, said Fukuda, who also requested that the crew is trained commercial flights and medical supplies to protect yourself and passengers.
The WHO committee also recommends that all travelers from affected countries to get a checkup, responding to a questionnaire and taking the temperature, at airports, ports and major border crossings.
In this respect, Greece subjected to tests on Friday to a Greek citizen, who came himself to hospital after work recently in Nigeria, to determine whether the disease suffered.
In Uganda, a passenger was negative in these tests at Entebbe airport.
Two countries in a state of emergency, Liberia and Sierra Leone, quarantined three cities in the contaminated area.
Europe hosted the first Thursday repatriated Ebola patient, a Spanish missionary in Liberia contaminated, days after return to the United States by two American patients. A nun who returned to Spain with missionary again gave negative tests Ebola.
The Ebola virus is transmitted by direct contact with blood, body fluids or tissues of infected humans and animals and causes a fever, characterized by bleeding, vomiting and diarrhea. Its mortality rate varies between 25 and 90 percent.
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