Ebola: 'US and other world powers need to help West Africa,' says Obama

     "The United States needs to do
      more to help control West
      Africa’s deadly Ebola outbreak
      to stop it becoming a global
      crisis that could one day
      threaten Americans, President
      Barack Obama said in an
      interview."

Obama told NBC’s “Meet the
Press” that the outbreak, which
has killed 2,100 people in African
five countries, was unlikely to
spread to the United States in the
short term. But he added there
could be implications if
Washington and other powers did
not send urgently needed
equipment, public health workers
and other supplies to the region.

     "If we don’t make that effort
      now, and this spreads not just
      through Africa but other parts
      of the world, there’s the
      prospect then that the virus
      mutates. It becomes more
      easily transmittable," he said in
      the interview broadcast
      yesterday. "And then it could
      be a serious danger to the
      United States," he added.

The United Nations said last week $600 million in supplies were needed.

     "We’re going to have to get U.S.
      military assets just to set up, for
      example, isolation units and
      equipment there, to provide
      security for public health
      workers surging from around
      the world," Obama said in the
      interview. "If we do that, then
      it’s still going to be months
      before this problem is
      controllable in Africa," he said.