Ebola Outbreak Will Be Contained – World Bank

World Bank boss Jim Yong Kim is optimistic Africa’s Ebola outbreak will be contained and kept under control within months if immediate action is taken.

“The progress even in the last few days has been tremendous, the US commitment has been very very helpful,” Dr Kim said.

The deadly Ebola virus has hit more than 5300 people in West Africa, and killed more than 2,600 of them, according to the UN’s World Health Organisation.

The US is sending 3000 military personnel to west Africa to combat the health crisis, and Dr Kim said the UN Secretary General had been handling the Ebola outbreak like it was an outbreak of war.

A medical doctor trained in treatment of infectious diseases, Dr Kim said he was confident the Ebola outbreak would be under control soon, despite an attitude that controlling the disease would be difficult.

“The focus must be on the implementation, getting people on board, and getting the equipment and drugs,” he said.

The treatment of Ebola is simple, relying on rehydration and the use of electrolytes, Dr Kim said.

“The Ebola virus has never run to a modern first world healthcare system,” he said.

“Our own sense is if you get those fundamental things in place, you can have a very high survival rate.

[three_fourth]”It’s not too complicated, you can do this using nurses and community health workers,” he said.