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                WHO: $1 Billion Needed to Contain Ebola Outbreak

   by VOA News

   The unprecedented Ebola outbreak in West Africa requires a $1 billion
   response to keep its spread within the "tens of thousands" of cases,
   United Nations officials said on Tuesday.

   'The virus has killed more than 2,500 people, half of the more than
   5,000 people infected by the virus, and the toll has doubled in the
   last month, World Health Organization Assistant Director General Bruce
   Aylward said.

   "Quite frankly, ladies and gentlemen, this health crisis we're facing
   is unparalleled in modern times," Aylward told a news conference in
   Geneva. "We don't know where the numbers are going on this."

   He said the WHO's previous forecast, that the number of cases could
   reach 20,000, no longer seemed a lot, but the number could be kept
   within the tens of thousands with "a much faster reponse."

   'Global response coalition'

   U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will launch a "global response
   coalition" in New York on Thursday, said Dr. David Nabarro, senior U.N.
   coordinator for Ebola.

   "The amount for which we requested was about $100 million a month ago
   and now it is $1 billion, so our ask has gone up 10 times in a month,"
   Nabarro told reporters.

   "Because of the way the outbreak is advancing, the level of surge we
   need to do is unprecedented, it is massive," he said.

   The United States announced on Tuesday that it would send 3,000 troops
   to help tackle the Ebola outbreak as part of a ramped-up response,
   including a major deployment in Liberia, the country where the epidemic
   is spiraling fastest out of control.

   Community-level care in Liberia

   Also, the Ebola response in Liberia will now focus on community-level
   care units since new bed spaces are unlikely to be ready for weeks or
   months, Aylward said on Tuesday.

   "The absolute first priority is to establish enough capacity to rapidly
   isolate the cases so that they are not infecting others. We need Ebola
   treatment centers to do that, very very quickly, but they take time to
   build, as you've seen," Aylward said.

   "It takes weeks, if not months, to get these facilities up and
   running," he said. "We have firm commitments for more than 500
   additional beds in Liberia and we think we will hear announcements that
   will take that even further over the coming weeks."

   The WHO still has a goal to "bend the curve" in total Ebola case
   numbers across West Africa within three months, but some areas may be
   free of the disease sooner, he said.

   "You definitely want to get Nigeria and Senegal obviously done quickly.
   In some capitals - Freetown, Conakry - we should be able to get those
   free in the near term. Guinea should be able to get most of the country
   free in the very near term as well," Aylward said.

   In Sierra Leone and Liberia the disease is more entrenched over bigger
   geographic areas and the Liberian capital Monrovia was a "particular
   challenge," he said.

   One Ebola case in Senegal

   The number of cases has shrunk to one single confirmed Ebola patient in
   Senegal, after two suspected cases were ruled out, and remained steady
   at 21 cases in Nigeria, Aylward said.

   "I cannot say Senegal is safe. Remember, if a country has Ebola, the
   incubation period is about 21 days," he said. "I like to see at least
   two incubation periods without any cases to be absolutely sure. So that
   would take us way out into October. Never declare victory over this
   virus."

   Guinea, where the outbreak originated last December, has had 936 cases,
   Sierra Leone 1,602 and Liberia 2,407, he said.

   Chinese team

   Also on Tuesday, China dispatched a laboratory team to Sierra Leone to
   reinforce Ebola virus prevention work in the country, China's state-run
   broadcaster CCTV reported.

   The team consists of 59 experts who are from China's Center for Disease
   Control and Prevention, CCTV reported.

   Organized by National Health and Family Planning Commission, the team
   is expected to participate in virus testing work in order to improve
   lab testing ability, CCTV said.

   In a bid to halt new infections, Sierra Leone is going to restrict
   residents to the areas around their homes for three days from September
   19. The move should also help health workers track down people
   suffering from the disease.

   The Chinese team will help test suspects during the three-day lockdown,
   CCTV reported.

   Material for this report came from Reuters.
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/ebola-outbreak-who-response-one-billion-dollars/2451347.html