Scottish Funds Support Ebola Fight

£500,000 boost to international aid effort in the fight against deadly Ebola virus.

Scotland is to help in the fight against Ebola.

The Scottish Government has confirmed that half a million pounds is to be given to help support local and international efforts in West Africa.

The outbreak has been reported in four countries - Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone with more than 2, 000 cases recorded, whilst 1, 350 people have died from the disease.

Minister for Public Health, Michael Matheson said:

"The Scottish Government is committed to aiding the global response to this devastating outbreak in West Africa.

"We know that Ebola has an extremely high fatality rate and this makes it essential to speed up and co-ordinate the response in affected communities and ensure humanitarian needs are met.

"This funding will support the mobilisation of additional resources and efforts of local teams in bringing the outbreak under control, as well as providing much needed aid for the people affected by the outbreak."

The funding will be released to the World Health Organization (WHO), International Rescue Committee and UNICEF and support efforts to scale up specialist care, improve monitoring and tracking of the disease and deliver resources such as emergency kits, clean blankets, hygiene and sanitising equipment. 

Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) symptoms include high fever, bleeding and central nervous system damage.
• Fatality rate can reach 90% - but the current outbreak is about 55%.
• Incubation period is two to 21 days.
• There is no vaccine or cure.
• Supportive care such as rehydrating patients who have diarrhoea and vomiting can help recovery.
• Fruit bats are considered to be virus' natural host.