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NO EBOLA IN ETHIOPIA: SPOKESMAN
ADDIS ABABA (AA <
http://www.newstimeafrica.com/archives/www.aa.com.tr/en>)
– The Ethiopian Foreign Ministry on Friday denied reports about the
detection of an Ebola case in the Horn of Africa country.
“The rumors being distributed by the social media saying there is an Ebola
case reported in Ethiopia are totally baseless,” ministry spokesman Dina
Mufti told a briefing organized for the diplomatic community on Friday.
“This is a malicious act created by Eritrea affiliated groups to create
panic in Ethiopia,” he said.
Eritrean authorities could not be reached for comment on the accusations.
Mufti said that Ethiopian authorities have given a prime attention to
preventing Ebola from reaching the country since the first case of the
virus was reported in West Africa.
“The country has formed a national committee led by its Deputy Prime
Minister to follow [up on] the matter,” he said.
The spokesman confirmed that “There is no Ebola case reported in the
country so far.”
Deputy Director of the Ethiopian Public Health Institute Daddi Jima, for
his part, said strengthened surveillance was underway at airports and other
land crossings as part of efforts to prevent the Ebola virus from reaching
the country.
“Training of health workers is also being done,” Jima said. “So far, the
country has established two isolation centers equipped with the necessary
materials if there are travellers suspected of Ebola following
surveillance.”
Keba Omar Jaiteh, technical officer for preparedness, surveillance and
response Program with the World Health Organization, said that “If there is
Ebola case reported in Ethiopia, it will not be hidden.”
In recent months, Ebola – a contagious disease for which there is no known
treatment or cure – has killed more than 4,400 people in West Africa,
including more than 2,200 in Liberia alone, according to the World Health
Organization.
A tropical fever that first appeared in 1976 in Sudan and the Democratic
Republic of Congo, Ebola can be transmitted to humans from wild animals. It
can also spread through contact with the body fluids of infected persons or
of those who have succumbed to the virus.
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Received on Fri Oct 17 2014 - 09:38:00 EDT