The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the current ebola epidemic in West Africa an international health emergency.
The Geneva-based United Nations health agency said the possible consequences of further international spread of the outbreak, which has killed almost 1,000 people in four West African countries, are "particularly serious" in view of the virulence of the disease.
It says it is essential to have a coordinated international response in order to stop and reverse the spread of the virus.
The WHO has held a two-day meeting on the best way to tackle the outbreak. Members and advisors of the WHO emergency committee met by teleconference on both days of the meeting.
The Committee advised that the Ebola outbreak in West Africa constitutes an 'extraordinary event' and a public health risk to other states.
"The possible consequences of further international spread are particularly serious in view of the virulence of the virus, the intensive community and health facility transmission patterns, and the weak health systems in the currently affected and most at-risk countries," it said.
It also found that "a coordinated international response is deemed essential to stop and reverse the international spread of Ebola."
As of August 4th, countries have reported 1,711 cases - 1,070 confirmed cases, 436 probable cases, and 205 suspected cases - including 932 deaths.
WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan said the announcement is "a clear call for international solidarity" but acknowledged that many countries would probably not have any Ebola cases."
"Countries affected to date simply do not have the capacity to manage an outbreak of this size and complexity on their own," Dr Chan said.
"I urge the international community to provide this support on the most urgent basis possible."
WHO Emergency Committee: #Ebola outbreak in West #Africa constitutes an ‘extraordinary event’ & a public health risk to other countries
— WHO (@WHO) August 8, 2014
The declaration is the result of a week-long meeting by experts to decide the severity of the situation. It is not clear what - if any - impact the WHO's declaration will have.
The US Centers Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has already raised its Ebola response to the highest level and has urged people not to travel to West Africa.
CDC boss Dr Tom Frieden told US politicians that the current outbreak was likely to affect more people than all previous outbreaks of the disease combined.
Professor David Heymann from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who directed the WHO response to the SARS outbreak, said "I don't know what the advantage is of declaring an international emergency. This could bring in more foreign aid but we don't know that yet."
The current outbreak of Ebola began in Guinea in March and has since spread to Sierra Leone and Liberia. There is no licensed treatment or vaccine for Ebola and the death rate has been around 50%.
On Thursday, a Spanish missionary priest infected with Ebola became the first person to be treated in Europe during the deadly outbreak.
Miguel Pajares, who contracted it while helping Ebola patients at a hospital in Liberian capital Monrovia, is in hospital in Madrid after being flown in along with Spanish nun, Juliana Bonoha Bohe, who had been working with him but who has not tested positive.
Two Americans who worked for Christian aid agencies in Liberia and were infected with Ebola while taking care of patients in Monrovia were recently flown to the US for treatment.
They have shown signs of improvement after being given an experimental US-developed drug known as ZMapp, which is difficult to produce on a large scale.
Pressure is continuing for an experimental drug shown to help Ebola symptoms to be licensed.
Infection expert Professor Tom Solomon says it needs a proper trial first:
Originally posted 08:16
