MOSCOW, August 18 (RIA Novosti) — The World Health Organization on Monday urged the governments of the countries affected by quickly spreading Ebola virus to enforce mandatory screening of passengers traveling abroad.
"Affected countries are requested to conduct exit screening of all persons at international airports, seaports and major land crossings, for unexplained febrile illness consistent with potential Ebola infection," WHO said in a statement.
"Any person with an illness consistent with EVD should not be allowed to travel unless the travel is part of an appropriate medical evacuation," the statement said.
According to the UN health watchdog, the new Ebola outbreak in West Africa, which has affected Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone, has already claimed 1,140 lives, while 2,127 people have been infected.
The worst Ebola outbreak in history started in February. Last week, WHO's experts said that the numbers of reported cases and deaths by Ebola virus in West Africa "vastly underestimate the magnitude of the outbreak."
Ebola is a deadly disease transmitted through direct contact with the blood or bodily fluids of the infected. There is no licensed treatment or vaccine for the Ebola virus, which has a case fatality rate of up to 90 percent.
Several companies are currently working on the experimental anti-Ebola drugs, which have only been tested on animals and a handful of humans. Last Wednesday, the WHO declared it ethical to use untested drugs to treat victims of the ongoing Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
