Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg reportedly announced this morning that he and his wife Priscilla would be donating $25 million to the Centers for Disease Control Foundation to help fight the Ebola virus.
"The Ebola epidemic is at a critical turning point. It has infected 8,400 people so far, but it is spreading very quickly and projections suggest it could infect 1 million people or more over the next several months if not addressed," posted Zuckerberg on Facebook along with his announcement.
He added, "We need to get Ebola under control in the near term so that it doesn't spread further and become a long-term global health crisis that we end up fighting for decades at large scale, like HIV or polio. We believe our grant is the quickest way to empower the CDC and the experts in this field to prevent this outcome. Grants like this directly help the front-line responders in their heroic work. These people are on the ground setting up care centers, training local staff, identifying Ebola cases and much more."
Mark Zuckerberg's announcement comes soon after the World Health Organization warned that there could be up to 10,000 new cases of Ebola a week in two months, according to the LA Times. The death rate for the virus has also reportedly risen to 70%, according to WHO.
The founder of the social media network isn't the only one who has donated to help fight Ebola. Bill Gates announced last month that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation would give $50 million towards efforts to stop the outbreak, according to Forbes.
A new plan has been set to counter further contamination of health care workers who are currently dealing with Ebola patients after nurse Nina Pham in Texas tested positive for the virus recently, according to Fox News.
Embattled Centers for Disease Control (CDC) director Dr. Tom Frieden reportedly stated during a press conference that the organization will provide Ebola response teams within hours of a confirmed case to any hospital in the United States.
"I wish we put team like this [in place] when first the patient was diagnosed. We will do it from this day forward anywhere in the U.S.," stated Friedan.
