The Japanese Government has donated emergency relief goods valued at 29 million yen to Sierra Leone, through the Japan International Cooperation Agency as part of efforts to combat the Ebola outbreak.
A statement issued by the Japanese Foreign Ministry and copied to the Ghana News Agency by Mr Stanislaus Acquah said the donation, which includes blankets, was in response to the request from the Government of Sierra Leone.
�The Government of Japan has decided to provide emergency assistance from a humanitarian point of view as well as in the light of friendly relations between the two countries,� the statement said.
According to the World Health Organisation, the Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a severe, often fatal illness, with a case fatality rate of up to 90%.
It is one of the world�s most virulent diseases. The infection is transmitted by direct contact with the blood, body fluids and tissues of infected animals or people.
Severely ill patients require intensive supportive care. During an outbreak, those at higher risk of infection are health workers, family members and others in close contact with sick people and deceased patients.
Ebola outbreaks can devastate families and communities, but the infection can be controlled through the use of recommended protective measures in clinics and hospitals, at community gatherings, or at home.
The Ebola virus disease, which was initially reported in Guinea this March spread to the neighboring countries such as Sierra Leone.
The WHO says as of August 18, 907 cases, including suspected ones and 374 deaths were confirmed according to the World Health Organization.
At least 2,473 people have been sickened in this outbreak � more than the caseloads of all the previous two-dozen Ebola outbreaks combined, it says.
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