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A co-discoverer of the Ebola virus warned that China is still susceptible to the virus, especially the Chinese medical teams in Africa that are helping to contain the epidemic.
Peter Piot, a microbiologist from Belgium, said that screening at airports for the virus is not effective at all based on experiences with other similar outbreaks. He also criticized the sluggish response of the World Health Organization to the current outbreak.
The microbiologist also said that Chinese workers who will be coming back from Africa are more concerning rather than the Africans traveling to China.
Piot mentioned that China's public hospitals are also concerning, as infected traveling patients will inevitably land in China.
When asked about China's preventive measures against the outbreak, Hong Lei, foreign ministry spokesman, said that China has heightened its airport screenings and also established preparations for the epidemic.
"So far, owing to our effective work, no suspected case has been reported in China. But we will remain on high alert and will never let down our guard," said the foreign ministry spokesman.
According to the latest report from the WHO, the Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa has already killed 4,922 people. A large percentage of the deaths were observed in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.
The Belgian microbiologist also said that the death figures of the current Ebola outbreak is nearly four times the number of Ebola-related deaths over the past 40 years.
