President Barack Obama said Monday the chances of a US Ebola outbreak were "extraordinarily low" but vowed to press world leaders to step up the global fight against the deadly epidemic in West Africa, AFP reports.
President Barack Obama said Monday the chances of a US Ebola outbreak were "extraordinarily low" but vowed to press world leaders to step up the global fight against the deadly epidemic in West Africa, AFP reports.
Obama spoke to reporters after getting a briefing from top health officials on his government's plan to tackle the virus in Africa and to prevent outbreaks on US soil sparked by travelers from the region.
Obama said that Ebola was a challenge that the United States had to take "extremely seriously," even though the chances that it could spread in the country were "extraordinarily low."
He said the chances of Ebola spreading on US soil were so low because of the "world class" US public health system and the fact that the virus was not easily transmitted.
Obama, who has ordered 4,000 troops to West Africa to help build health care infrastructure to tackle the epidemic, warned that the world needed to do more.
"I am going to put a lot of pressure on my fellow heads of states," Obama said.
"Some large countries are not doing enough."