US Envoy Criticizes Global Response To Ebola On West Africa Visit

The US envoy to the United Nations has arrived in West Africa to see first hand how Ebola-hit countries are coping. The US and Australia have quarantined people who may have come into contact with the virus.

United States ambassador Samantha Power arrived in Guinea's capital Conakry on Sunday to begin a tour of West African countries affected by Ebola. From Guinea, Power will head to Sierra Leone and Liberia to meet with health workers and identify the most pressing gaps in resources.



The three countries have been hardest-hit by the hemorrhagic fever, which has infected more than 10,000 people and killed nearly 5,000, according to the most recent figures from the World Health Organization (WHO).



"We are not on track right now to bend the curve…It is not a virus that is going to remain contained within these three affected countries if we don't deal with it at its source," Power told news agency Reuters. She said she would take note of what help was needed and report back to US President Barack Obama, "who's got world leaders now on speed dial on this issue."



Before boarding the plane to Guinea, Power told broadcaster NBC that the international response needed to be taken to a whole new level, and that too many countries were sitting back without taking the "responsibility yet to send docs, to send beds, to send the reasonable amount of money."



Power also plans to travel to Ghana to visit the UN Ebola response mission headquarters, before meeting with EU officials in Brussels.



Last month, the UN said almost $1 billion (about 790 million euros) was needed to fight Ebola over the next six months. So far almost $500 million has been committed.



New US rules blasted



Outside of West Africa, there have also been Ebola infections reported in Spain and the United States. In a bid to stop further cases, three US states - Illinois, New York and New Jersey - have introduced 21-day mandatory quarantines for returning travelers who may have come into contact with Ebola in West Africa.



Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has told CNN the new measures could deter healthcare workers from going to Ebola-affected countries. The best way to protect Americans, he said, "is to help the people in West Africa, we do that by sending people over there."



His comments come after a nurse, who arrived at New Jersey's Newark airport from Sierra Leone, criticized the way she was treated under the policy. Kaci Hickox, the first person to be quarantined under the new checks, described "a frenzy of disorganization" while she underwent hours of questioning by officials in protective gear before being put in a hospital isolation tent.



"This is not a situation I would wish on anyone, and I am scared for those who will follow me," Hickox wrote in The Dallas Morning News.



Teen quarantined in Australia



Meanwhile, officials in Australia said Sunday an 18-year-old woman was being tested for Ebola after she emigrated from Guinea to Brisbane with her family 11 days ago.



The woman developed a fever and was put in hospital isolation, medical staff said, adding that there was no risk to the Australian community.



"She didn't have any known contact with anyone that was sick with Ebola virus disease, but she did come from an area that had a reasonably large number of cases," Jeannette Young, chief health officer in the state of Queensland told a press conference.



The results of the initial test for the virus are expected by Monday.



nm/se (AP, AFP, Reuters)