Ebola Becoming “A Global Crisis” Says Plan International

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Voiceofrussia.com

The charity Plan International says the current outbreak of Ebola is rapidly becoming “a global crisis” with almost 500 fatalities and at least 800 known cases. Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone are affected, but eight other countries are on alert and a US citizen in Ghana is being tested, it was reported today. VoR’s Tim Ecott spoke to Head of Disaster Preparedness at Plan International, Dr Unni Krishnan.

The outbreak of Ebola fever in West Africa is, by some accounts, the most serious for several years. Ninety percent of those infected with the disease will die. Today, a senior government official in Ghana said that a US citizen in the country is being tested for Ebola after visits to Guinea and Sierra Leone in the past few weeks.

Asked if he fears that the virus could spread to other countries, Dr Krishnan told VoR: “There are three key things to note: there are three countries affected, it has claimed more than 480 lives; and it is no longer limited to small rural pockets from where people don’t often travel outside much – cases and deaths have been reported even in big towns.”

The disease is spread through any exchange of fluids between the carrier and new person, and the incubation is between two and 21 days, making it very difficult for the virus to be detected as people are moving from country to country.

He points out that we are talking about countries with scant resources to tackle the issue, and “we need a much more coordinated global response.”

Isn’t it alarmist to call it a ‘global health crisis’?

“It’s true that it hasn’t left Africa in the past,” he says, “and there’s never been a situation where multiple countries with this many numbers have been affected. So this should serve as a wake-up call so that we take precautionary measures and contain the outbreak.

“Until now, there’s been a gross misjudgment in gauging the severity of the disease and its outbreak. Time is running out, we must act now.”

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