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WHO: Ebola outbreak is a public health emergency
APTOPIX Switzerland U Werm
The director general of the World Health Organization, China's Margaret Chan, and Assistant Director General for Health Security Keiji Fukuda of the U.S., right, share a word during a press conference after an emergency meeting at the headquarters of the WHO in Geneva, Switzerland, Friday. - photo by Associated Press
LONDON — The World Health Organization on Friday declared the Ebola outbreak in West Africa to be an international public health emergency that requires an extraordinary response to stop its spread. It is the largest and longest outbreak ever recorded of Ebola, which has a death rate of about 50 percent and has so far killed at least 961 people. WHO declared similar emergencies for the swine flu pandemic in 2009 and for polio in May.
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