WHO: Ebola outbreak in West Africa an international health emergencyBy Faith Karimi and Radina Gigova, CNNUpdated 10:41 PM ET, Fri August 8, 2014Just WatchedDelayed response cause Ebola to spread? replayMore Videos ...Delayed response cause Ebola to spread? 03:55Story highlightsEbola has killed 961 people from the start of the outbreak this year U.N. health agency: "A coordinated international response is deemed essential" Doctors Without Borders applauds designation but says "statements won't save lives"Global health experts on Friday declared the Ebola epidemic ravaging West Africa an international health emergency that requires a coordinated global approach. Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone are battling the Ebola virus, which has also spread to Nigeria. The virus has killed 961 people from the start of the outbreak this year through Wednesday, the World Health Organization said."The possible consequences of further international spread are particularly serious in view of the virulence of the virus, the intensive community and health facility transmission patterns, and the weak health systems in the currently affected and most at-risk countries," WHO said Friday after two days of emergency meetings.The U.N. health agency described it as the worst outbreak in the four-decade history of tracking the disease. Just WatchedInitial Ebola response a 'failure'replayMore Videos ...Initial Ebola response a 'failure' 04:49PLAY VIDEO"A coordinated international response is deemed essential to stop and reverse the international spread of Ebola," WHO said. Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosPhotos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosThe Ebola epidemic – Red Cross workers, wearing protective suits, carry the body of a person who died from Ebola during a burial in Monrovia, Liberia, on Monday, January 5. Since the epidemic started a little more than a year ago in a remote village in Guinea, the world has seen more than 8,400 deaths, according to the latest numbers from the World Health Organization. And that number is believed to be low, since there was widespread under-reporting of cases, according to WHO.Hide Caption 1 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosPauline Cafferkey, a Scottish woman diagnosed with Ebola, is put on a plane in Glasgow, Scotland, on Tuesday, December 30. Cafferkey, a 39-year-old nurse who volunteered in Sierra Leone, was being transported to London for treatment.Hide Caption 2 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosLiberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has her temperature taken before the opening of a new Ebola clinic Tuesday, November 25, in Monrovia.Hide Caption 3 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosA child who survived the Ebola virus is fed by another survivor at a treatment center on the outskirts of Freetown, Sierra Leone, on Tuesday, November 11.Hide Caption 4 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosHealth workers in Monrovia cover the body of a man suspected of dying from the Ebola virus on Friday, October 31.Hide Caption 5 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosKaci Hickox leaves her home in Fort Kent, Maine, to take a bike ride with her boyfriend on Thursday, October 30. Hickox, a nurse, recently returned to the United States from West Africa, where she treated Ebola victims. State authorities wanted her to avoid public places for 21 days -- the virus' incubation period. But Hickox, who twice tested negative for Ebola, said she would defy efforts to keep her quarantined at home.Hide Caption 6 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosCrew members at an airport in Accra, Ghana, unload supplies sent from China on Wednesday, October 29.Hide Caption 7 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosHealth officials in Nairobi, Kenya, prepare to screen passengers arriving at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Tuesday, October 28.Hide Caption 8 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosU.S. President Barack Obama hugs Ebola survivor Nina Pham in the Oval Office of the White House on Friday, October 24. Pham, one of two Dallas nurses diagnosed with the virus, was declared Ebola-free after being treated at a hospital in Bethesda, Maryland. The other nurse, Amber Vinson (not pictured), was treated in Atlanta and also declared Ebola-free.Hide Caption 9 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosHealth workers in Port Loko, Sierra Leone, transport the body of a person who is suspected to have died of Ebola on Tuesday, October 21.Hide Caption 10 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosHealth workers bury a body on the outskirts of Monrovia on Monday, October 20.Hide Caption 11 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosGarteh Korkoryah, center, is comforted during a memorial service for her son, Thomas Eric Duncan, on Saturday, October 18, in Salisbury, North Carolina. Duncan, a 42-year-old Liberian citizen, died October 8 in a Dallas hospital. He was in the country to visit his son and his son's mother, and he was the first person in the United States to be diagnosed with Ebola.Hide Caption 12 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosBoys run from blowing dust as a U.S. military aircraft leaves the construction site of an Ebola treatment center in Tubmanburg, Liberia, on Wednesday, October 15.Hide Caption 13 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosAid workers from the Liberian Medical Renaissance League stage an Ebola awareness event October 15 in Monrovia. The group performs street dramas throughout Monrovia to educate the public on Ebola symptoms and how to handle people who are infected with the virus.Hide Caption 14 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosEbola survivors prepare to leave a Doctors Without Borders treatment center after recovering from the virus in Paynesville, Liberia, on October 12.Hide Caption 15 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosA woman crawls toward the body of her sister as a burial team takes her away for cremation Friday, October 10, in Monrovia. The sister had died from Ebola earlier in the morning while trying to walk to a treatment center, according to her relatives.Hide Caption 16 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosA person peeks out from the Dallas apartment where Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person diagnosed with the Ebola virus in the United States, was staying on Friday, October 3.Hide Caption 17 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosA girl cries as community activists approach her outside her Monrovia home on Thursday, October 2, a day after her mother was taken to an Ebola ward.Hide Caption 18 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosA health official uses a thermometer Monday, September 29, to screen a Ukrainian crew member on the deck of a cargo ship at the Apapa port in Lagos, Nigeria.Hide Caption 19 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosWorkers move a building into place as part of a new Ebola treatment center in Monrovia on September 28.Hide Caption 20 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosMedical staff members at the Doctors Without Borders facility in Monrovia burn clothes belonging to Ebola patients on Saturday, September 27. Hide Caption 21 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosMedics load an Ebola patient onto a plane at Sierra Leone's Freetown-Lungi International Airport on Monday, September 22.Hide Caption 22 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosA few people are seen in Freetown during a three-day nationwide lockdown on Sunday, September 21. In an attempt to curb the spread of the Ebola virus, people in Sierra Leone were told to stay in their homes.Hide Caption 23 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosSupplies wait to be loaded onto an aircraft at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport on Saturday, September 20. It was the largest single shipment of aid to the Ebola zone to date, and it was coordinated by the Clinton Global Initiative and other U.S. aid organizations.Hide Caption 24 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosA child stops on a Monrovia street Friday, September 12, to look at a man who is suspected of suffering from Ebola.Hide Caption 25 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosHealth workers in Monrovia place a corpse into a body bag on Thursday, September 4.Hide Caption 26 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosAfter an Ebola case was confirmed in Senegal, people load cars with household items as they prepare to cross into Guinea from the border town of Diaobe, Senegal, on Wednesday, September 3.Hide Caption 27 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosCrowds cheer and celebrate in the streets Saturday, August 30, after Liberian authorities reopened the West Point slum in Monrovia. The military had been enforcing a quarantine on West Point, fearing a spread of the Ebola virus.Hide Caption 28 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosA health worker wearing a protective suit conducts an Ebola prevention drill at the port in Monrovia on Friday, August 29. Hide Caption 29 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosVolunteers working with the bodies of Ebola victims in Kenema, Sierra Leone, sterilize their uniforms on Sunday, August 24. Hide Caption 30 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosA burial team from the Liberian Ministry of Health unloads bodies of Ebola victims onto a funeral pyre at a crematorium in Marshall, Liberia, on Friday, August 22.Hide Caption 31 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosDr. Kent Brantly leaves Emory University Hospital on Thursday, August 21, after being declared no longer infectious from the Ebola virus. Brantly was one of two American missionaries brought to Emory for treatment of the deadly virus.Hide Caption 32 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosAn Ebola Task Force soldier beats a local resident while enforcing a quarantine on the West Point slum on August 20.Hide Caption 33 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosLocal residents gather around a very sick Saah Exco, 10, in a back alley of the West Point slum on Tuesday, August 19. The boy was one of the patients that was pulled out of a holding center for suspected Ebola patients after the facility was overrun and closed by a mob on August 16. A local clinic then refused to treat Saah, according to residents, because of the danger of infection. Although he was never tested for Ebola, Saah's mother and brother died in the holding center.Hide Caption 34 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosA burial team wearing protective clothing retrieves the body of a 60-year-old Ebola victim from his home near Monrovia on Sunday, August 17. Hide Caption 35 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosWorkers prepare the new Ebola treatment center on August 17.Hide Caption 36 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosLiberian police depart after firing shots in the air while trying to protect an Ebola burial team in the West Point slum of Monrovia on August 16. A crowd of several hundred local residents reportedly drove away the burial team and their police escort. The mob then forced open an Ebola isolation ward and took patients out, saying the Ebola epidemic is a hoax.Hide Caption 37 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosA crowd enters the grounds of an Ebola isolation center in the West Point slum on August 16. The mob was reportedly shouting, "No Ebola in West Point."Hide Caption 38 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosA health worker disinfects a corpse after a man died in a classroom being used as an Ebola isolation ward Friday, August 15, in Monrovia.Hide Caption 39 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosHealth workers in Kenema screen people for the Ebola virus on Saturday, August 9, before they enter the Kenema Government Hospital.Hide Caption 40 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosAid worker Nancy Writebol, wearing a protective suit, gets wheeled on a gurney into Emory University Hospital in Atlanta on August 5. A medical plane flew Writebol from Liberia to the United States after she and her colleague Dr. Kent Brantly were infected with the Ebola virus in the West African country. Hide Caption 41 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosMembers of Doctors Without Borders adjust tents in the isolation area in Kailahun on July 20.Hide Caption 42 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosBoots dry in the Ebola treatment center in Kailahun on July 20.Hide Caption 43 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosDr. Jose Rovira of the World Health Organization takes a swab from a suspected Ebola victim in Pendembu, Sierra Leone, on Friday, July 18.Hide Caption 44 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosRed Cross volunteers disinfect each other with chlorine after removing the body of an Ebola victim from a house in Pendembu on July 18.Hide Caption 45 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosA scientist separates blood cells from plasma cells to isolate any Ebola RNA and test for the virus Thursday, April 3, at the European Mobile Laboratory in Gueckedou, Guinea.Hide Caption 46 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosHealth specialists work Monday, March 31, at an isolation ward for patients at the facility in southern Guinea.Hide Caption 47 of 47EXPAND GALLERYJust WatchedWhy Ebola drug isn't available in AfricareplayMore Videos ...Why Ebola drug isn't available in Africa 02:15PLAY VIDEOJust WatchedStep inside CDC's Ebola war roomreplayMore Videos ...Step inside CDC's Ebola war room 02:48PLAY VIDEOEbola virus: 9 things to know about the killer diseaseMedical aid groups applauded the designation but said that it alone won't reduce fatalities. "Declaring Ebola an international public health emergency shows how seriously WHO is taking the current outbreak, but statements won't save lives," said Dr. Bart Janssens, director of operations for Doctors Without Borders, a humanitarian organization."Now we need this statement to translate into immediate action on the ground. For weeks, MSF has been repeating that a massive medical, epidemiological and public health response is desperately needed to save lives and reverse the course of the epidemic," said Janssens, using the initials for his organization's French name, Medecins Sans Frontieres."Lives are being lost because the response is too slow."The agency said it has nearly 700 staff responding to the crisis in the affected countries. "All our Ebola experts are mobilized, we simply cannot do more," Janseens said. American patients improvingTwo Americans who contracted Ebola while supporting efforts to fight the disease in Liberia are showing improvement at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. Dr. Kent Brantly and aid worker Nancy Writebol are getting treatment at one of four U.S. institutions capable of providing such treatment.WHO warns of bogus informationMeanwhile, a WHO official said bogus information is adding to the rapid spread of the disease. "Perhaps one of the most important factors contributing to this is fear and misinformation," said Dr. Keiji Fukuda, assistant director for health security. "This is critical to understand, because what it is doing is that it helps foster suspicion and anxiety in communities, and when that happens we see a situation where people are reluctant to go to health facilities or maybe reluctant to bring their family members there."Though infectious, Ebola "is not mysterious" and can be contained, Fukuda said. Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said the fast-spreading disease has overwhelmed her nation's health care system."The scope and scale of the epidemic ... now exceed the capacity and statutory responsibility of any one government agency or ministry," she said. The Liberian leader declared a 90-day state of emergency this week, which will allow her government to set up a series of measures to prevent the spread of the disease.Map: Ebola outbreakEXPAND IMAGEJust WatchedHow an Ebola outbreak can start, and endreplayMore Videos ...How an Ebola outbreak can start, and end 02:09PLAY VIDEOJust WatchedThe facts about EbolareplayMore Videos ...The facts about Ebola 03:44PLAY VIDEO9 questions about this new Ebola drugWhile Liberia struggles to contain the epidemic, the United States ordered relatives of its embassy employees to leave the country. The U.S. Embassy is in the capital of Monrovia, one of the areas hardest-hit by the epidemic. Washington said it's sending experts to Liberia, including 12 specialists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and a 13-member disaster assistance response team from the U.S. Agency for International Development. Ebola is here: 5 reasons not to panicThe Ebola virus causes hemorrhagic fever that affects multiple organ systems in the body.Early symptoms include weakness, muscle pain, headaches and a sore throat. They later progress to vomiting, diarrhea, impaired kidney and liver function -- and sometimes internal and external bleeding.Ebola spreads through contact with organs and bodily fluids such as blood, saliva, urine and other secretions of infected people. It has no known cure. The most common treatment requires supporting organ functions and maintaining bodily fluids such as blood and water long enough for the body to fight off the infection.What's the risk of catching Ebola on a plane?Ebola outbreakHow the world reacted as Ebola spreadThe largest Ebola epidemic in history began with the simple act of caring for a child. Soon, it spread from the remote village in Guinea.Countries with travel restrictionsThe worst-ever outbreak of Ebola virus is stretching the medical capacities of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.Who is patient zero?Before the deaths soared into the thousands, before the outbreak triggered global fears, Ebola struck a toddler named Emile Ouamouno. The messy truth about EbolaWhat happens when you get Ebola? CNN's Miguel Marquez explains.Millions of vaccines planned by 2015 Health experts are fast-tracking tests for various vaccines, and hope to have millions of experimental doses by next year.How the Ebola virus spreadsEbola is a scary infectious disease but the first thing you should know is that it's not very contagious. Here is how it spreads.What you need to knowThese questions and answers will give you the latest information on the deadly virus and what's being done to stop its spread.3 with Ebola will fly each monthUp to three Ebola-infected travelers might board an international flight each month in West Africa, according to a new study, and potentially spread the deadly virus.Why some survive, some don'tThere's no cure for Ebola. So why have some patients walked away healthy while others in the West died? Inside the world's worst outbreakA doctor at a government-run Ebola treatment center in Monrovia is too busy to mince words.Stigmatized, abandoned orphansTwo children orphaned by Ebola play in the empty corner of a Liberian orphanage. Their parents died last month, and none of the extended family is willing to claim them. Five ways the CDC got it wrongPublic health experts are asking whether the CDC is partly to blame for problems with Ebola in the U.S. Here are 5 things they say the CDC is getting wrong.Can pets get or spread Ebola? The lack of solid protocol on what to do with Ebola victims' pets and what little is known about the risk has caused one dog to be euthanized and another quarantined. A look at Ebola protective gearRosie Tomkins takes a look at the protective suits that are worn by some Ebola medical workers in Africa.How hospitals handle Ebola patientsWhat's the protocol for health care workers if they suspect a patient has the virusEbola outbreak in West AfricaClick through our gallery as we track the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Complete coverage on EbolaA look at CNN's complete coverage on the Ebola crisis. More from health5 things to know about measlesFather asks California school district to ban children who haven't been immunizedFit Nation 2015 team kick off in AtlantaPowered by Livefyre
How the world reacted as Ebola spreadThe largest Ebola epidemic in history began with the simple act of caring for a child. Soon, it spread from the remote village in Guinea.
Countries with travel restrictionsThe worst-ever outbreak of Ebola virus is stretching the medical capacities of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Who is patient zero?Before the deaths soared into the thousands, before the outbreak triggered global fears, Ebola struck a toddler named Emile Ouamouno.
Millions of vaccines planned by 2015 Health experts are fast-tracking tests for various vaccines, and hope to have millions of experimental doses by next year.
How the Ebola virus spreadsEbola is a scary infectious disease but the first thing you should know is that it's not very contagious. Here is how it spreads.
What you need to knowThese questions and answers will give you the latest information on the deadly virus and what's being done to stop its spread.
3 with Ebola will fly each monthUp to three Ebola-infected travelers might board an international flight each month in West Africa, according to a new study, and potentially spread the deadly virus.
Why some survive, some don'tThere's no cure for Ebola. So why have some patients walked away healthy while others in the West died?
Inside the world's worst outbreakA doctor at a government-run Ebola treatment center in Monrovia is too busy to mince words.
Stigmatized, abandoned orphansTwo children orphaned by Ebola play in the empty corner of a Liberian orphanage. Their parents died last month, and none of the extended family is willing to claim them.
Five ways the CDC got it wrongPublic health experts are asking whether the CDC is partly to blame for problems with Ebola in the U.S. Here are 5 things they say the CDC is getting wrong.
Can pets get or spread Ebola? The lack of solid protocol on what to do with Ebola victims' pets and what little is known about the risk has caused one dog to be euthanized and another quarantined.
A look at Ebola protective gearRosie Tomkins takes a look at the protective suits that are worn by some Ebola medical workers in Africa.
How hospitals handle Ebola patientsWhat's the protocol for health care workers if they suspect a patient has the virus
Ebola outbreak in West AfricaClick through our gallery as we track the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.