‘Ebola kills 488 health workers’

About 488 health workers have so far died while discharging their duties since the latest outbreak of the Ebola Viral disease, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said.

The casualty figure was recorded in the three most affected West African countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

The highest fatality rate of 221 deaths from 296 affected health workers was recorded in Sierra Leone. Liberia had 370 health workers infected with 178 deaths. Guinea recorded 154 cases with 89 deaths.

A World Health Organization Representative, Dr. Georges Ki-Zerbo disclosed this at the weekend during a high level coordination meeting of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Accra.

He said WHO and UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) were working to build the capacity of countries yet to record any case of the disease.

Meanwhile, ECOWAS countries have been called upon to set up Rapid Response Teams at national, district and regional levels, supported by InterMinisterial Coordinating Committees as part of containment mechanisms against the deadly Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) epidemic in the region.

Opening a Technical Coordination meeting in Accra at the weekend by ECOWAS partners on the fight against the outbreak, Ghana’s Health Minister Dr. Kwaku AgyemangMensah said these mechanisms and proposed committees should provide guidance and assist the implementation against Ebola and similar epidemics.