Ebola outbreak: World Bank chief appeals for volunteers

The president of the World Bank has appealed for thousands of medical workers to volunteer and help contain the growing Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

Jim Yong Kim said at least 5,000 medics and support staff were needed to beat the disease.

Many potential recruits were too scared to travel to West Africa, he added.

The current Ebola outbreak has infected more than 10,000 people and killed nearly 5,000.

World Bank chief Mr Kim was speaking during a visit to Ethiopia, where he accompanied UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and African Union chairwoman Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

"Right now, I'm very much worried about where we will find those healthcare workers," he said.

"With the fear factor going out of control in so many places, I hope healthcare professionals will understand that when they took their oath to BECOME a health care worker it was precisely for moments like this," he added.

Mr Ban said that transmission rates in West Africa continued to outstrip the pace of the international response.

He added that imposing travel restrictions on affected countries would severely curtail efforts to beat the disease.

In other developments:

• A Dallas NURSE who contracted Ebola on American soil is due to be discharged from hospital on Tuesday after being declared free of the virus
• Australia's decision to suspend entry visas for people from Ebola-affected countries in West Africa is criticised, with Uganda's presidency accusing Western countries of "creating mass panic"
• New US federal guidelines say that medics returning from treating Ebola patients in West Africa should be actively monitored but not placed in quarantine - but some states say they will continue with their quarantine polices
• Separately, the US Army has imposed a 21-day monitoring period for all soldiers returning from the region