News: Bill Gates warns Ebola could spread beyond West Africa

It is impossible to guess whether world leaders have done enough to bring the Ebola epidemic under control, given the risks that it will spread to countries beyond West Africa, the technology billionaire and philanthropist Bill Gates said on Monday.

Countries should get ready to handle a possible outbreak of the deadly hemorrhagic fever in case it spreads further as people from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea move across borders, Gates said at a breakfast meeting sponsored by the newspaper Politico and Bank of America.
“Because of that uncertainty, I am not going to hazard a guess,” Gates said when asked whether he thinks the massive ramping up of international aid over the past few weeks is enough.
The World Bank already has started working with countries on developing plans should the highly infectious disease spread.
The lesson so far is that countries with strong primary healthcare systems already in place are well positioned to halt the march of Ebola, as Nigeria and Senegal have demonstrated in their quick response to cases there, Gates said.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funneled extra money in July and August towards Nigeria and pledged an additional $50 million on Sept. 10 to fight the epidemic, which so far has infected over 6,000 people mostly in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
The World Health Organization warns the infection rate probably is three times that number and could reach 20,000 by November. The death rate is over 50 percent.
To contain the epidemic, the United States on Sept. 16 announced the deployment of 3,000 military engineers and medical personnel to build 17 treatment clinics and train healthcare workers, mostly in Liberia, at a cost of about $1 billion.
The United Kingdom and France also are increasing their assistance and the United Nations has stepped forward to coordinate the international effort.