The number of Ebola cases in Africa climbed to over 1,800 as of Sunday, but the deadly virus is still able to be contained, The Daily News reported.
Dr. Keiji Fukuda, assistant director general of health security at the World Health Organization, said that there are 1,825 current cases of the virus and more than 900 deaths in four African countries. These numbers are expected to continue to increase.
The disease can still be contained if international authorities scale up their response to the outbreak. The virus was able to spread due to weak health facilities in underdeveloped nations, Fukuda said, according to The Daily News.
A WHO panel was expected to meet on Monday to discuss the ethics of using experimental drugs on sick patients, WGN reported. Ebola has no cure, but a new serum has been given to two Americans who contracted the virus. Both patients gave consent to receive the drug, called ZMapp, which hasn't been tested on humans. So far, their conditions are reportedly improving, according to WGN.
What is noticeable about this outbreak is the increase in cases of the virus prior to the WHO's worldwide health crisis declaration last week, according to the Wall Street Journal. Ebola usually takes up to 12 days from infection to become symptomatic, and previous increases in Ebola rose according to the pace of the incubation period.
Ebola cases have now been found in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nigeria. Eating meat from monkeys, rats and other creatures, known as bush meat, caused the virus to transfer to humans.
Ivory Coast banned flights to and from countries affected by Ebola on Sunday. Emirates became the first major international airline company to suspend flights from Guinea. In addition, British Airways cancelled its flights to Sierra Leone and Liberia last week.
