The Ebola virus. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

Israel is joining international efforts to prevent the spread of Ebola in Africa, which has seen one of the largest Ebola outbreaks in history and is currently affecting West African nations including Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Senegal.

Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation (MASHAV), along with the Ministry of Health’s Public Health Directorate, announced that it would be joining international efforts to prevent Ebola from spreading in African nations not yet affected.

Two Israeli doctors, Dr. Roee Singer from the Ministry of Health and Dr. Pnina Shitrit, a senior physician at Meir Hospital’s infectious diseases department, departed for Cameroon on Sunday, September 7, for a week-long professional program on preventing infectious diseases. The Israeli doctors will share methods with the local professional teams and medical staff to prevent infection by the Ebola virus and other diseases.

Ebola is regarded as one of the world’s deadliest diseases, killing 50 to 90 percent of those infected. More than 660 people have been killed in West Africa and 1,100 people have been infected during the recent Ebola outbreak.