The Africa Union Commission is calling for urgent international help in fighting the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. 

About 4,877 people have died in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone after contracting the disease since its outbreak in the sub-region early this year.

Chair of the Commission, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, who is on a tour of the three countries hit hardest, told Joy News the Commission has begun deployment of personnel and logistics to those countries as they step-up support. 

According to Dr. Zuma, the logistics will be crucial.

“We are going to mobilise health workers from the continent to go and work in these three countries [and] to date, we have been able to send a team to Liberia and Sierra Leone [and] by the end this month [October] we would have sent a team to Guinea,” she told Fred Smith Thursday, October 23, 2014.

“We are also reaching out to Heads of States to give us more health workers to send to these countries,” she added.

The AU Commission Chair also wants the global community to do more in dealing with the problem.

“I expect the international community to respond positively and quickly because as it has been demonstrated, the disease knows no borders; it can be anywhere and everywhere. We must work together as humanity and therefore, those who have more resources must put the resources at the disposal of these affected countries”. 

Vaccine 

Meanwhile, the first batch of an experimental vaccine against Ebola is due to arrive in Switzerland. 

The vaccine, developed by Canada's public health agency, combines fragments of Ebola with a non-fatal virus and could trigger the immune system to produce the antibodies necessary to fight the disease.