UN discusses West Africa Ebola outbreak, could declare international health emergencyDuring the two-day emergency meeting, the U.N. could recommend actions to prevent the virus' spread. Meanwhile, Nigeria confirmed its second Ebola death Wednesday — a nurse who treated the country's first victim last month. BY MEG WAGNER NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Wednesday, August 6, 2014, 7:42 AM
STRINGER/REUTERSA health worker removes his protective after treating Ebola patients in Sierra Leon. The U.N. World Health Organization kicked off an emergency meeting Wednesday to discuss the virus. As Ebola's death toll climbs past 887, the U.N. is debating deeming the outbreak a public health emergency.
The United Nations' World Health Organization is holding a two-day emergency meeting to discuss West Africa's Ebola outbreak and its possible impacts on global health. The session, which kicked off Wednesday, is the first time the UN emergency committee will discuss Ebola.
During the meeting, delegates will decide if the outbreak is severe enough to make it a "public health emergency of international concern" and could recommend procedures to reduce the global spread of Ebola.
It's unclear what actions the group could recommend.
The U.N. will announce any decisions Friday morning.
HANDOUT/REUTERSAt least 887 people have died from the virus since the March start of the outbreak. Since the March start of the current outbreak, at least 887 people have died from the virus, the World Health Organization announced Monday. West Africa has seen more than 1,600 Ebola cases during the months-long outbreak.
Nearly all of the cases have developed in three countries: Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, confirmed its second Ebola death Wednesday.
Onyebuchi Chukwu, Nigeria's health minister announced a nurse died from the disease after treating Nigeria's first Ebola victim — Patrick Sawyer, a Liberian-American man who caught the virus while traveling in Liberia and died in July.
DAVID GOLDMAN/APSteve Monroe, of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, looks over a map showing global health issues. Four countries have been Ebola deaths: Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Nigeria. Chukwu confirmed five other cases in Nigeria, all believed to be health workers who treated Sawyer.
No deaths have been reported outside of Africa.
Two Americans infected with Ebola have been transported from Liberia to Atlanta for treatment. Both Nancy Writebol and Kent Brantly were treating West African Ebola patients when they caught the virus.
Both have shown signs of improvement since receiving experiential treatment at Emory University, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported.
An Ohio woman suspected of contracting Ebola during a recent trip to Africa tested negative for the virus Tuesday. A sick toddler on a flight from Abu Dhabi to New York's Kennedy Airport struck fear in fellow passengers Tuesday, but once on the ground, Centers for Disease Control workers determined the two-year-old did not have the virus.
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