Ryan's District Boards

Nigeria became the latest country to declare a national emergency over the deadly Ebola virus on Friday, as the World Health Organisation called the epidemic that has claimed nearly 1,000 lives a global health crisis. Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan ordered the immediate release of 1.9 billion naira ($11.7 million, 8.7 million euros) to fund the fight against the disease as Africa's most populous nation confirmed two more Ebola cases, bringing the total number of infections to nine -- including two deaths. It stopped short of calling for global travel restrictions, urging airlines to take strict precautions but to continue flying to the west African countries hit by the outbreak. WHO director-general Margaret Chan appealed for greater help for those worst hit by the "largest, most severe and most complex outbreak in the nearly four-decade history of this disease".