Ebola is not controlled in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone but traveller's risk is very low

Because of the 729 deaths so far, including more than 60 health care workers, and 1,323 cases overall, the Director of the World Health Organization has stated that the disease is not under control yet.

As part of the increasing efforts to combat the infection, Sierra Leone has declared a state of emergency and called in troops to enforce an Ebola quarantine. More funding for more field personnel and protective equipment for health care providers is being requested.

In spite of all the publicity, the risk for travellers is very, very low, since transmission of this virus requires very close personal contact with an infected person’s bodily fluids, such as vomit, blood, saliva, sweat, etc. This kind of contact occurs for persons who are caring for sick people with Ebola or when participating in cultural traditions for preparing, e.g., washing or touching, a dead body for burial.