Fears that the west African Ebola outbreak may spread to other continents grew on Wednesday with European and Asian countries on alert, and a leading medical charity warning that the epidemic was uncontrollable.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said the crisis gripping Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone would only get worse and warned there was no revolutionary strategy to handle the world’s worst outbreak of the disease.
Hong Kong announced quarantine measures for suspected cases, while the EU said it was ready to deal with the threat.
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has held talks with global health officials on potential measures to stop the spread of the disease.
In Britain, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond chaired the government’s COBRA crisis management committee to assess the situation.
Ebola can kill victims within days, causing severe fever, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhoea and, in some cases, organ failure and constant bleeding.
Since March, there have been 1,201 cases of Ebola and 672 deaths in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
A British doctor volunteering in Sierra Leone treating Ebola patients mentioned that medical staff were swamped.
“The main challenge here, though, is that the health authorities just don’t have the infrastructure to cope. They’re overwhelmed,” Benjamin Black said.
A top doctor in charge of a Sierra Leone treatment centre died of the virus earlier this week.
In Canada, a doctor had put himself in quarantine as a precaution after spending weeks in west Africa treating patients alongside an American doctor, who is now infected.
A spokesman for the French foreign ministry said they were offering technical support and expertise on the ground in west Africa.
Liberia announced it was shutting all schools and placing “non-essential” government workers on 30 days’ leave.
Togo-based pan-African airline ASKY has halted all flights to and from Liberia and Sierra Leone following the death of a passenger from the virus.
The 40-year-old man, who travelled from Liberia, died in Lagos on Friday in Nigeria’s first confirmed death from Ebola.
The virus crossing borders for the first time by plane could lead to new flight restrictions aimed at containing outbreaks, the world aviation agency said.
“Until now (the virus) had not impacted commercial aviation, but now we’re affected,” ICAO secretary general Raymond Benjamin said.
“We will have to act quickly.”
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