East African countries vow to prevent spread of Ebola

Nairobi, Sept 18: Ministers of health, transport and immigration from five eastern African countries on Wednesday vowed to strengthen measures that would prevent spread of

virus in the region.

The ministers said in a joint communique that their governments will harmonise interventions to mitigate Ebola transmission as the risk profile spiked due to human traffic from affected regions, Xinhua reported.

"Rapid spread of Ebola has necessitated adoption of a common approach to prevent the spread of this disease to the region," said James Macharia, Kenya's cabinet secretary for health, during a regional ministerial summit on emergency response to Ebola in Nairobi.

So far, no east African country has reported an Ebola case though the region is vulnerable to transmission due to its proximity to the Equatorial forest.

Officials warned that weak health systems, poverty and disjointed response have exposed east African countries to the threat of Ebola.

IANS