UN says Ebola epidemic will be 'under control' in August

(AGI) London, March 23 - The Ebola virus epidemic, which hasbeen pummelling western Africa for over a year, will be 'undercontrol' by August. The reassuring news has been released byIsmail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, head of the UN response missionagainst the terrible virus that has killed over 10,000 people.The UN representative openly admitted that some internationalorganisations are to blame for underestimating the danger andthe speed at which the disease spread across Guinea, Liberiaand Sierra Leone. When the virus started spreading, "there wasprobably a lack of knowledge and there was a certain degree ofarrogance, but I think we are learning lessons, " said Ahmed tothe BBC. "We have been running away from giving any specificdate, but I am pretty sure myself that it will be gone by thesummer," the official added. When international organisationsannounced during the summer of 2014 that there was aninternational emergency, the disease had already killed over1000 people. On March 18, the reported death toll was 4283 inLiberia, 3712 in Sierra Leone and 2241 in Guinea. Casualtieshave been also reported in Nigeria where the virus killed eightpeople, while six died in Mali, one in Spain and one in theUnited States. (AGI).