WHO declares Ebola outbreak International Health Emergency

The World Health Organisation Friday declared the Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa as an International Health Emergency.

"A coordinated international response is deemed essential to stop and reverse the international spread of Ebola," the WHO said in a statement issued after a meeting of its emergency committee.

"It was the unanimous view of the Committee that the conditions for a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) have been met," it added.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Ebola outbreak since March has struck 1,711 people and has killed 932 in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.

 

The virus is spread through direct contact with the bodily fluids of those infected.