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Ebola has killed more than 100 people since March and has a fatality rate of up to 90 percent — AFP

GENEVA — The World Health Organisation (WHO) yesterday said in a statement that the Ebola outbreak in West Africa is unprecedented in many ways, including the high proportion of doctors, nurses, and other health care workers who have been infected. To date, more than 240 health care workers have developed the disease in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone, and more than 120 have died.

WHO said the deadly virus has taken the lives of prominent doctors in Sierra Leone and Liberia, depriving these countries not only of experienced and dedicated medical care but also of inspiring national heroes.

WHO noted shortages of personal protective equipment or its improper use, far too few medical staff for such a large outbreak, and the compassion that causes medical staff to work in isolation wards far beyond the number of hours recommended as safe contributed to the high proportion of infected medical staff.

WHO said capital cities as well as remote rural areas are affected, vastly increased opportunities for undiagnosed cases to have contact with hospital staff.

In many cases, medical staff are at risk because no protective equipment is available, not even gloves and face masks. Even in dedicated Ebola wards, personal protective equipment is often scarce or not being properly used.

In addition, personal protective equipment is hot and cumbersome, especially in a tropical climate, and this severely limits the time that doctors and nurses can work in an isolation ward. Some doctors work beyond their physical limits, trying to save lives in 12-hour shifts, every day of the week. Staff who are exhausted are more prone to make mistakes.

The loss of so many doctors and nurses has made it difficult for WHO to secure support from sufficient numbers of foreign medical staff.
According to WHO, the African Union has launched an urgent initiative to recruit more health care workers from among its members.

Meanwhile, the United Nations warned on Monday that restrictions on flights to and from Ebola-hit West African countries could hamper the international community’s ability to fight and reverse the current outbreak of the deadly virus disease.

“The United Nations system is focused on tackling the serious outbreak of Ebola virus disease in West Africa. However, there have been challenges with air transportation into and out of the countries affected,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said at a daily briefing.

“The current limitations on flights into and out of affected countries, and the restrictions placed on aircraft originating from these countries transiting through airports in neighbouring countries, though understandable, are not warranted.”

He stressed that the measure is not an optimal measure for controlling the import of Ebola virus disease, because it “does not reflect what is known about the way in which the virus passes between people.”

“Three considerations are important to keep in mind for the public at large: Ebola is not spread through air borne contact; transmission is unlikely to occur through water or food; a person infected with the Ebola virus is not contagious until symptoms appear; Ebola is spread through direct contact with the blood or body fluids of a person who is sick with the virus,” Dujarric said.

According to the spokesperson, protocols can be well established to safeguard against contagion, namely, Ebola affected individuals displaying symptoms of the infection can be identified before boarding airplanes and prevented from travelling.

As an additional safeguard, detection on arrival can trigger, if necessary, protocols for isolation of the patient and infection verification, Dujarric said.

“The current trend of limitations on flights is having adverse effects on efforts to control the disease,” he added. “Current flight limitations are hampering the movement of international experts involved in the control efforts.”

Dujarric insisted the flight restrictions hinder the capacities of aid organisations to deploy their personnel in support of the crisis response and mitigation.

“The ability of programmes involved in controlling the outbreak to transport essential equipment and materials to the region is also being severely hampered,” he said.

“The flight limitations contribute to the economic and diplomatic isolation of the affected countries and further compound the stigmatisation already experienced by their citizens.”

According to WHO, there have been 2,615 cases and 1,427 deaths reported in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria so far. The United Nations System Coordinator for Ebola, Dr David Nabarro, is now in Guinea, after having visited Liberia and Sierra Leone. — Xinhua.