Ebola outbreak: Nigeria declares national emergency

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Nigeria has become the third African nation, after Sierra Leone and Liberia, to declare a national emergency as it battles the Ebola outbreak.

At Lagos airport, authorities are on high alert. Passengers are being screened with specialist equipment, in a bid to contain one of the deadliest diseases known to man.

President Goodluck Jonathan has pledged millions of euros to fight the outbreak.

“If they discover any form of suspicion or any form that needs further interrogation, we have a holding area where the person is taken,” explained Yakubu Dati, Lagos Airport General Manager.

“And, in addition to that, we also have a quarantine area that if a case needs further attention, the person is actually quarantined.”

There are seven confirmed cases of Ebola in Nigeria. Almost one-thousand people have died across West Africa.

The World Bank is helping authorities to contain the disease.

“The World Bank Group will raise as much as 200 million dollars to support Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone in their efforts to battle the ebola epidemic that has broken up in those three countries,” said Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank.

“This money will go on very basic support, for medical supplies, medical staff and also the people who are facing economic hardship as a result of this epidemic.”

The World Health Organisation is treating the outbreak as an international health emergency.

There is no proven cure or vaccine for Ebola, so preventing its spread is crucial.

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