Share

China ups medics in Ebola-hit Sierra Leone

Geneva - China will send more medics to Ebola-hit Sierra Leone to help boost laboratory testing for the virus, raising the total number of Chinese medical experts there to 174, the UN said Tuesday.

"The most urgent immediate need in the Ebola response is for more medical staff," World Health Organization chief Margaret Chan said in a statement, hailing the Chinese commitment.

China has said it will dispatch a mobile laboratory team to Sierra Leone, where more than 500 people have died so far from Ebola.

It will send a 59-person team from the Chinese Centre for Disease Control, including epidemiologists, clinicians and nurses, WHO said.

US efforts

"The newly announced team will join 115 Chinese medical staff on the ground in Sierra Leone virtually since the beginning," Chan said, stressing that the new commitment was "a huge boost, morally and operationally."

The Chinese contribution comes in response to WHO's urgent appeal to countries around the globe to step up their assistance to help bring the raging epidemic under control.

The worst-ever Ebola contagion has already killed more than 2 400 people in west Africa since it erupted earlier this year.

The announcement of China's contribution comes as US President Barack Obama was set on Tuesday to announce US efforts to "turn the tide" in the Ebola epidemic.

Washington plans to order 3 000 US military personnel to west Africa, while US advisors will train up to 500 health care providers per week in Liberia - the country hardest-hit by the epidemic.

The first patients

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) meanwhile announced late Monday that it had opened its first Ebola treatment centre in Kenema, one of the districts of Sierra Leone worst affected by the deadly outbreak.

The centre, which is staffed with 19 international workers and 80 national employees, will have room for 60 patients, IFRC said.

The first patients, including an 11-year-old girl from Freetown, were already being treated there, it added.

The tropical Ebola virus can fell its victims within days, causing severe fever and muscle pain, weakness, vomiting and diarrhoea - in some cases shutting down organs and causing unstoppable bleeding.

No licensed vaccine or treatment exists but health experts are looking at fast-tracking two potential vaccines and eight treatments, including the drug ZMapp.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Do you think corruption-accused National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula will survive a motion of no confidence against her?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
No, her days are numbered
42% - 354 votes
Yes, the ANC caucus will protect her
58% - 488 votes
Vote
Rand - Dollar
18.93
-0.1%
Rand - Pound
23.90
-0.0%
Rand - Euro
20.44
+0.1%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.34
+0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.1%
Platinum
904.58
+0.9%
Palladium
1,012.82
+1.1%
Gold
2,218.03
+1.1%
Silver
24.80
+0.7%
Brent-ruolie
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
68,346
+1.0%
All Share
74,536
+0.9%
Resource 10
57,251
+2.9%
Industrial 25
103,936
+0.6%
Financial 15
16,502
-0.1%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE