As an unprecedented Ebola epidemic continues to wage havoc in West Africa, the international medical humanitarian organization, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), says it does not have resources to check the “out of control” virus.
Ebola is a very infectious hemorrhagic fever that has up to 90% fatality rate. Since the disease surfaced in Guinea in March this year, over 528 cases have been reported with 337 deaths. New cases continue to emerge in Sierra Leone and Liberia.
MSF, which has 300 international and national staff working in West Africa, has sent more than 40 tonnes of equipment and supplies. The MSF, also known as Doctors without Borders, says it is overwhelmed by the scale of the epidemic.
MSF has called on local and international authorities to help control the epidemic. More groups are needed to help quell public anxiety over the disease, it said. A lack of understanding about what the disease, and how is spread has people distrusting health facilities and attending funeral rituals that put them at risk.
“Civil society and political and religious authorities are failing to acknowledge the scale of the epidemic” the organization said. In the statement, Janssens has called upon the World Health Organization and neighbouring countries to provide resources necessary for an epidemic of this scale.
The WHO has not yet recommended any restrictions to travel or trade in Guinea, Liberia or Sierra Leone. But is working with local community and is planning a regional meeting on July 2.
This is the first time that Ebola has broken out in the region. The unprecedented geographical distribution, the numbers of cases and deaths, and the persistence of the epidemic has frightened local communities, and is a growing cause of concern for the wider West African region.
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