23 Oct 2014

Emergency team holds Ebola talks

6:58 am on 23 October 2014

The World Health Organization's emergency committee is holding talks to discuss the Ebola epidemic.

Ebola

Officials from the World Health Organization wearing protective gear against the Ebola virus as they prepare to enter Kagadi Hospital in Uganda. Photo: AFP

The meeting in Geneva will examine screening measures at borders and consider whether stricter travel regulations should be put in place, the BBC reported.

New rules in the US require travellers from the worst affected countries to arrive at one of five airports.

Meanwhile, first batches of an experimental vaccine against Ebola are due to arrive to Switzerland.

The vaccine, developed by Canada's public health agency, combines fragments of Ebola with a non-fatal virus and could trigger the immune system to produce the necessary antibodies.

However, the BBC's Imogen Foulkes in Geneva says a fully tested and approved vaccine is not expected to become available for months or possibly years.

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