WASHINGTON, DC, USA (CMC) — The Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) says it is preparing countries in Latin America and the Caribbean for potential importations of the Ebola virus from West Africa.

PAHO said that it is doing so, even though the United States is the only country in the Americas, including the Caribbean, which has to date registered cases of the virus.

PAHO said Ebola is a “serious disease for which there is currently no vaccine or cure”, adding that, in the current outbreak, it has a 50 per cent fatality rate.

“Given that the possibility of an imported case in Latin America or the Caribbean cannot be discarded, PAHO has been working with its member countries to ensure they can respond rapidly and effectively if such a case appears,” the statement said.

To date, PAHO said teams of experts and partner organisations have travelled to some 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to provide technical support as needed for Ebola preparedness efforts.

It said Cuban health-care workers have received training before travelling to West Africa to help with the Ebola response there.

With the Ebola virus transmitted through body fluids from an infected person who has symptoms of the disease, PAHO said it has trained medical and nursing professionals in the epidemiology of the virus and in case detection and management.

It said proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE) is the most important measure for preventing transmission to health workers assigned to care for Ebola patients.

Experts from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the US National Institutes of Health, and Spain’s Carlos III Hospital in Madrid have provided training for health professionals in the Caribbean on how to put on and take off different types of PPE, PAHO said.

It said medical and nursing professionals from Latin America and the Caribbean have participated in simulation exercises on clinical management of Ebola patients together with experts with experience in handling these cases.

Participants in the exercise are expected to train others in their own countries, said PAHO, adding that experts in laboratory diagnosis and management of biological risks were convened to analyse procedure for safe management of Ebola and suspected Ebola samples and to define protocols for diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring.

PAHO said efforts to prepare for the potential introduction of Ebola into Latin America or the Caribbean also help strengthen countries’ capacities to respond to other disease outbreaks and epidemics.

It said the framework for these efforts is the International Health Regulations, an agreement signed by World Health Organisation member-states to “promote an effective response to public health emergencies of international concern”.