TheCable

The United States government on Monday announced that it would deploy 100 medical personnel to help in the fight against the Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa.

Reuben Brigety, US ambassador to the African Union (AU), stated this in Addis Ababa during an information-sharing session on Ebola at the AU Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC).

Brigety said the U.S would deploy 25 medical doctors and 75 nurses to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Nigeria – the four countries affected by the virus.

He, however, said the deployment to the Ebola-affected countries was subject to AU approval, even though the US government was ready to assist.

The envoy advised African countries to also send doctors and medical personnel to provide the services needed to tackle the disease in the affected countries.

At the session, Japan announced its donation of $1.5 million to the World Health Organization (WHO) fund towards fighting the virus.

Its representative at the AU said the Asian country had also sent medical experts to affected countries.

According to WHO, the Ebola virus has killed 1,145 persons out of 2,127 recorded cases since the outbreak began in February.