The European Union has donated 300,000 euros (US $260,370) for the fight against Ebola in northeastern Gabon, an official at the European Commission's office in Libreville told IRIN on Wednesday.
He said the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres-Belgique would use the money to care for Ebola patients, train local staff in disease protection methods and help the government take effective quarantine measures.
The current Ebola outbreak began in December 2001. It has affected mainly the Mekambo area, 600 km east of Libreville, and districts across the border in neighbouring Republic of Congo. The World Health Organization said that up to 20 January, the Gabonese government had reported 26 confirmed cases of Ebola, including 23 deaths; while 16 confirmed cases, including 11 deaths, had been reported in the Republic of Congo.
Ebola is a haemorrhagic fever transmitted through direct contact with body fluids of infected persons. There is no cure and between 50 percent and 90 percent of victims die.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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