KONYA
About half of all those infected with the Ebola virus do not survive, a Turkish health ministry official said on Thursday.
The number of death caused by the deadly virus Ebola reached 4,493 in almost 9,000, so that the fatality rate of the disease is around fifty percent, said the Directorate General of Health for Border and Coastal Areas, Husem Hatipoglu.
Hatipoglu told Anadolu Agency that Turkey continues its tight measures against the deadly epidemic Ebola, as the Turkish citizens with a chance of contacting the virus are being monitored for up to three weeks.
The number of travel health centers also increased from 32 to 43 as an additional measure to detect Ebola cases more effectively and leaflets in three languages for Turkish flights to the western African countries are being provided to passengers.
The flight attendants are also trained particularly for observing possible cases and warning authorities, and the planes flying to the highly infected region are disinfected regularly.
Currently, Turkey's flagship carrier airline, Turkish Airlines, flies to more African destinations than any other airline, a total of 39 cities.
However, the fatal virus has not made its way to Turkish territories so far. None of the five cases suspected of being Ebola were actually caused by the virus in Turkey.
According to the World Health Organization, the Ebola outbreak is still expanding geographically in many West African countries such as Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
Several people have died in Europe and the U.S, alarming the international community for a possible world-wide spill-over.
www.aa.com.tr/en
