NEW YORK, November 21 (Sputnik) – Despite gains against a West Africa Ebola outbreak that has claimed some 5,000 lives, the virus remains a "formidable enemy" to defeat, Dr. Margaret Chan, director-general of the UN's World Health Organization, told reporters on Friday.
"The Ebola virus is a formidable enemy. Yes, we are seeing some early signals of hope. Cases are stabilizing. But… we are also seeing some new areas where they are reporting new cases," Chan said after a series of meetings at the World Bank headquarters in Washington.
The WHO chief warned that celebrating a victory too early could be dangerous, and urged to stay vigilant in the face of this global threat.
"We must maintain our vigilance. Complacency would be our enemy. In order to get it to zero, we have been successful in bending the curve a bit, but we need to continue to do more to get to zero," she stressed.
There have been 15,351 reported Ebola cases in eight countries since the outbreak began in West Africa's Guinea in December 2013, with 5,459 reported deaths. The disease has since been imported into the United States and Spain, though a spillover has been avoided.
