Essien refutes Ebola rumors

AC Milan released a statement on Monday dismissing media reports that midfielder Michael Essien was being treated after contracting the Ebola virus.

"AC Milan catergorically denies the alleged reports from abroad about its players. Such reports are totally without foundation and what is more were never confirmed by any employee of the club," the statement said.

The Daily Times Nigeria and Newswire NGR had both cited an AC Milan official in reports claiming that Essien had caught Ebola while on national team duty with Ghana. The player himself issued reassurances on his official Twitter and Instagram accounts, saying "I'm very fit and very healthy, no truth in the Internet rumors that I have contracted Ebola. I'm well and will be training as usual tomorrow."

Essien further commented that the report was disrespectful to people who have caught Ebola, and seemed to suggest that he was considering legal action.

WHO warns against 'irrational' actions

This year's Ebola outbreak, the worst on record, has claimed more than 4,000 lives, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The majority of the cases have been in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, although people have also contracted the disease elsewhere in Africa, in Spain, and most recently in Texas.

WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said in a statement to a regional health conference in Manila on Monday that the outbreak in West Africa was "the most severe, acute health emergency seen in modern times."

Chan added, however, that most economic disruptions could be curbed if people were adequately informed to avoid irrational moves to dodge infection. Chan said that 90 percent of the financial costs of any outbreak "come from irrational and disorganized efforts of the public to avoid infection."

Earlier this month, for instance, the WHO was forced to issue a press statement saying there was "no indication" of the virus mutating and becoming airborne, following reports to the contrary. Ebola spreads via contact with bodily fluids. "Viruses do mutate but it is a complex process and takes time," the WHO wrote in the October statement.

In Liberia, the worst hit country in the 2014 outbreak, medical staff were expected to start a strike on Monday, appealing for higher hazard pay for working with Ebola patients. Journalists were not able to verify if the pledged strike had gone ahead, however, after Liberia on Friday banned reporters from visiting hospitals, saying it was trying to protect patients' privacy.

According to the latest WHO figures, 95 Liberian healthcare workers have died from the fever, out of 201 to become infected. Medical staff in the capital Monrovia have staged several protests and appeals for better protective equipment and more staff to deal with the sufferers.

msh/rg (AFP, AP, Reuters)