Ebola has killed approximately 4,000 people in three African Nations

International Monetary Fund (IMF), Managing Director, Christine Lagarde has urged the world not to isolate Africa because of the Ebola scare, since not all African countries have been hit by the deadly virus.

Lagarde, who was speaking during a news conference during IMF -World Bank Group annual meeting in Washington last week, stressed that while it’s important to stop the spread of Ebola, business must continue. She pointed out that its only three western African countries, mainly Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia which have been hit by Ebola and their economies are already feeling the impact.

“Businesses have to continue, the economies of all the others countries have to keep on working and creating jobs. “Lagarde said.

While wearing a budge written ‘isolate Ebola, not countries’, Lagarde has called on the world to adopt the slogan and said that IMF will provide all the support that it can.

Ebola is a highly contagious disease that causes severe fever, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhea, continual bleeding and ultimately organ failure. The virus is spread mainly through body fluids, including sweat and according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) the disease is fatal in up to 90 per cent of cases. Since the outbreak in the West African countries, Ebola has claimed the lives of more than 4,000 people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

WHO SAYS NO TO TRAVEL BANS

The World Health Organization (WHO) has continuously maintained that travel bans on the countries affected by the Ebola outbreak shouldn’t be an option as that would leave the countries cut off from the rest of the world, “resulting in detrimental economic consequences, and hinder relief and response efforts, risking further international spread.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director, Thomas Frieden, has also concurred with WHO’s sentiments maintaining that cutting off affected countries with travel bans could make the outbreak spread throughout the African continent.