Ebola outbreak poses massive challenges, warns senior charity official

A significant story is unfolding on the international scene. Ebola outbreak poses massive challenges, warns nurse2 hours ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleJen SugdenandRumeana Jahangir ,North WestBBCKate White, from Médecins Sans Frontières, flew from Manchester Airport as part of an international relief effortThe Ebola outbreak is posing massive challenges for medical aid organisations, a senior humanitarian official has said. Kate White, who is a program manager for the charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), and is flying out to the Democratic Republic of Congo, says she is "extremely concerned about the inability to get resources" to the country. Three Red Cross volunteers who died earlier this month were among the first known victims of DR Congo's Ebola outbreak, and likely caught it while managing dead bodies.

The outbreak has resulted in more than 200 suspected deaths and more than 850 suspected cases. White, who flew from Manchester Airport on Sunday as part of an international relief effort, said: "It really reinforces the need to make sure that we have all of the protective measures in place. "The World Health Organization (WHO) recently said the disease may be spreading faster than originally thought and have declared a public health emergency of international concern.

The Details

There is no approved vaccine for this outbreak, however experimental ones are in development. There are also no drugs that target it, making the illness harder to treat. EPAThe virus is believed to have led to the deaths of more than 200 people since AprilWhite, from York, who has worked on previous Ebola epidemics in Africa, said: "In terms of how many years we have been seeing these outbreaks for and we still don't have comprehensive medical countermeasures...

says something about the state of the world right now. "She added she was also concerned about the impact of closing airspace on transporting healthcare workers and resources to affected areas. "The pure volume of what we need to get in right now is massive.

"Improvements in the ability to confirm cases were required "across all of the geographic areas where it's impacting because we don't want people stuck in treatment centres if they don't have it", she said. "We want to be able to discharge them as soon as they recover from it so they can go back to their families and we're not there yet. "ReutersHealth workers have been monitoring people's temperatures as they try to prevent the outbreak spreadingWhat is Ebola and what are the symptoms?

What Experts Say

Ebola is a rare but deadly disease caused by a virus. Ebola viruses normally infect animals, but outbreaks among humans can sometimes start when people eat or handle infected animals. It takes two to 21 days for symptoms to appear.

They come on suddenly and start like the flu or malaria, with fever, headache and tiredness. As the disease progresses, vomiting and diarrhoea develop and it can lead to organ failure.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.