World Health Organization (WHO) chief Margaret Chan has now declared the current Ebola outbreak a global health emergency during a meeting in Geneva. She stopped short of recommending a general ban on travel or trade with affected countries.
From the original outbreak in Guinea, the virus has so far spread to three other African countries, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Nigeria. Also, two individuals who traveled through Ebola-affected territory are being held in isolation in Canada and Greece respectively, though it is unclear at this point what their diagnoses are.
In Spain, a priest who contracted the virus while carrying out voluntary work in Liberia, is currently also being held in isolation at a specialized facility in Madrid, Spain, and it is said to remain in a serious but stable condition.
The Ebola virus has a mortality rate of between 60 and 90%, depending on the strain. During the current outbreak, there have been 1,711 confirmed cases and 932 death events so far.