A coordinated international response is deemed essential to stop and reverse the international spread of Ebola."Cilacap, Central Java (ANTARA News) - The health agency of Cilacap, Central Java, is anticipating the likely spread of the Ebola virus, although no one in the district has been diagnosed with the deadly disease so far, stated an official.
"Praise be to Allah that so far, there is no one who has been diagnosed with the disease," Cilacap Health Office spokesman Bambang Setyono remarked here on Monday.
However, Bambang asserted that his office will continue to take precautionary measures to control the virus from spreading to both humans and animals.
Bambang emphasized that the Tanjung Intan port health office (KKP) authority will intensify its supervisory efforts by conducting regular health examinations on the crew members of foreign ships, such as a ship with cattle from Australia.
"The ship with cattle from Australia is not a passenger ship, so the KKP authority will only screen the health of its crew members before they get off the ship," he pointed out.
Bambang stated that measures to prevent the spread of Ebola have been implemented by seaport and airport health officials in several countries including Indonesia.
The World Health Organization (WHO) was quoted by Reuters as saying on Friday that West Africas Ebola epidemic is an "extraordinary event" and presently constitutes an international health risk.
The Geneva-based U.N. health agency claimed that the possible consequences of a further international spread of the outbreak, which has killed almost one thousand people in four West African countries, were "particularly serious" in view of the virulent nature of the virus.
"A coordinated international response is deemed essential to stop and reverse the international spread of Ebola," the WHO noted in a statement after a two-day meeting of its emergency committee on Ebola.
According to the ministry, Ebola can be transmitted from animals to humans and among human beings through direct contact.
A person who has contracted the Ebola virus suffers from high fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, vomiting, and dysfunctional lungs and kidneys.
The WHO and the European medical centers are also urging people to avoid traveling to infected areas or being in contact with people carrying the Ebola virus.
(Uu.O001/INE/KR-BSR/F001)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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