82 New Zealanders offer to join Ebola fight

The New Zealand government has said that 82 volunteers from its country, including nurses, pharmacists, and administrators, wish to join the international efforts against Ebola in West Africa.

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman said that was the number of people who had registered to support the Australian-flagged mission to Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa, to operate a 100-bed Ebola treatment centre, Radio New Zealand reported.

He said the government last month announced that it would facilitate the deployment of up to 24 New Zealanders as part of the country's $2 million contribution to international efforts to combat Ebola in West Africa.

The number of people killed by the Ebola outbreak has risen to about 7,000, the World Health Organization (WHO) said last month.

Ebola is spread only through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person showing symptoms such as fever or vomiting.