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Azerbaijan allocates $1 million to fight Ebola virus

30 October 2014 [11:59] - TODAY.AZ

/AzerNews/

By Amina Nazarli

Amidst the continued threat emanating from the deadly Ebola virus, Azerbaijan has allocated $1 million as part of an international effort to fight the outbreak of the dreaded virus.

This amount has been transferred to the Global Fund of the United Nations, at the instruction of President Ilham Aliyev.

In total, the European Commission has earmarked about 204 million euros in aid to the fight against Ebola virus.

The International Monetary Fund has already allocated $130 million to fight the Ebola virus and World Bank threw in some $200 million.

Moreover, recently the European Commission has allocated 24.4 million euros to promote investigation into the virus vaccine and method of treating diseases.

Meanwhile, the WHO is testing a handful of experimental vaccines.

The WHO announced plans on October 24 to produce millions of doses of two experimental Ebola vaccines by the end of 2015.

Hundreds of thousands of doses should be available to help affected countries before the end of June, the WHO said.

Individual cases of infection were recorded in the U.S., Canada, South America and Europe. The UN Security Council recognizes that the disease is spreading faster than physicians have time to take action.

The world's worst-ever Ebola outbreak, widespread in West Africa in March 2014, has already killed 4,922 people so far with more than 9,000 people infected.

There have been no reported cases of Ebola infection in Azerbaijan so far.

"Until today, 10-12 people appealed to the State Anti-Plague Station for information about the disease," Shair Gurbanov, the Deputy Director of the Republican Anti-Plague Station of the Azerbaijani Health Ministry said.

Earlier this month Azerbaijan has purchased special hazmat suits and equipment as part of preventive measures against the Ebola virus. One hundred sets of these suits, as well as medical examination tests have been bought by the order of the Azerbaijani Health Ministry.

The dangerous disease spreads only via direct contact through broken skin or mucous membranes with the blood, or other bodily fluids or secretions (stool, urine, saliva, semen) of infected people.

The incubation period of Ebola is maximum 21 days. People are infectious until their blood and secretions contain viruses, which lasts up to 60 days.

To protect yourself against the disease, it is necessary to observe personal hygiene.

URL: http://www.today.az/news/society/137277.html

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