Assistant World Health Organization Director-General for Health Security Dr. Keiji Fukuda appears at a briefing to discuss the Ebola outbreak in West Africa at the UN Foundation in Washington September 3, 2014. [File Photo: CFP]
WHO voices Confidence No Wider Spread of Ebola in Africa
The World Health Organization is expressing "reasonable confidence" that the Ebola plaguing three West African countries has not spread into neighboring states.
But in making the statement, WHO Assistant Director General Keiji Fukuda says the situation in West Africa is still very serious.
"I think that, you know, there is reasonable confidence right now that we are not seeing widespread transmission of Ebola into the neighboring countries, it remains a big concern for everybody, but we think that right now we are not seeing it, we think that would be very difficult to miss, basically."
Meanwhile, WHO experts have advised international travelers from the three hardest-hit nations - Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia - should be screened for possible Ebola symptoms to prevent the virus from spreading.
But the WHO says there should be no general ban on travel and trade with the affected countries.
At the same time, the African Union has promised to send more than a thousand health care workers into the Ebola zone.
