WHO Calls Urgent 11-Nation Meeting On Ebola

UN agency " gravely concerned" about transmission
of deadly virus and potential for international
spread.
The World Health Organisation has called an 11 -
nation meeting to address what it considers to be
the deadliest Ebola outbreak on record.
The UN agency warned on Thursday that dramatic
steps were needed as the number of deaths from
the virus continued to rise in Guinea , Liberia and
Sierra Leone .
The agency was now " gravely concerned by the
on- going cross-border transmission into
neighbouring countries as well as the potential for
further international spread, " said WHO ' s regional
director for Africa, Dr Luis Sambo.
The WHO has sent in more than 150 experts to
help tackle the crisis .
But despite the efforts of the WHO and other
international aid organisation , there had been a
" significant increase " in the number of cases and
deaths reported each day for the past three weeks ,
it said .
The WHO said it would convene a meeting of the
health ministers from 11 countries in Accra , Ghana
on July 2 and 3 to address the growing crisis .
Doctors Without Borders has described the
outbreak as out of control .
On Tuesday, the European Commission announced
it was committing an additional 500 ,000 euros in
funding to combat the outbreak, bringing its total
contribution to 1.9 m euros.
According to WHO figures , the outbreak has killed
280 people .
Ebola, named after a small river in the DRC , has no
cure.
Ebola first emerged in Central Africa in 1976 .