Ebola outbreak: Barack Obama ‘to pledge US troops to fight virus’

US President Barack Obama is to
announce plans on Tuesday to send
3,000 troops to Liberia to help fight the
Ebola virus, US officials say.
It is understood the US military will
oversee building new treatment centres
and help train medical staff.
There has been criticism of the slow
international response to the Ebola
epidemic in West Africa.
Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea are the
worst-hit countries. The outbreak has
killed more than 2,400 people.
More than half of those killed by the
virus have been in Liberia. The World
Health Organization (WHO) warned
recently that the country could see
thousands of more cases.
United Nations officials will discuss the
international response to the outbreak at
a meeting in Geneva.
US officials said the aim of the country’s
anti-Ebola initiative is to:
Train up to 500 healthcare workers a
week
Construct 17 heathcare facilities, each
with about 100 beds
Establish a joint command based in
Monrovia, Liberia, to co-ordinate
between US and international relief
efforts
Distribute home healthcare kits to
thousands of households
Conduct a home and community-
based campaign to train local people
in how to handle patients
Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
has appealed directly to Mr Obama for
help in tackling the outbreak.
Several disease experts have welcomed
the US plan, though some also question
its focus on Liberia.
“We should see all of West Africa now as
one big outbreak,” says Michael
Osterholm, director of the Center for
Infectious Disease Research and Policy at
the University of Minnesota, quoted in
The New York Times.
“It’s very clear we have to deal with all
the areas with Ebola.”
On Monday, Ghanaian President John
Dramani Mahama said greater and faster
outside help was needed.
Ebola spreads between humans by direct
contact with infected blood, bodily fluids
or organs, or indirectly through contact
with contaminated environments.
( BBC )