Fitting that SA takes a leading role in fighting Ebola

South Africa is to ramp up its efforts to counter the spread of Ebola in West Africa - a crisis described by the UN on Thursday as a "threat to international peace and security".

As we report today, a 40-bed field hospital for Ebola patients will be set up by our Department of Health in Sierra Leone within a month.

Pretoria plans to send 211 medical and support staff to run the hospital, plus medical supplies to Guinea and protective gear for health workers. It hopes to deploy 10 field epidemiologists to trace people who have come into contact with Ebola patients and five data managers to capture information about the spread of the disease.

The operation is expected to cost about R120-million and the department is asking big business to help fund it.

This support for the Ebola zone - centred on Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia - is being promised as the UN leads a global drive to counter the spread of the deadly virus, which has killed more than 2600 people and infected many thousands more.

The US is sending 3000 military personnel to Liberia, France is deploying a military hospital to Guinea, where the outbreak was first detected six months ago, and other countries have pledged equipment, funds and personnel.

Health authorities around the world are so alarmed by this, the worst outbreak of the disease known, because of the exponential rate of increase in the number of cases. According to the World Health Organisation, 45% of all infections were in the past three weeks.

It is in the world's interests to combine efforts to stop this terrifying disease in its tracks. If we fail, it could spread far beyond West Africa - cases have already been recorded in Nigeria and Senegal - and become a global emergency.

But South Africa has another reason for stepping in. The African Union cannot sit back and watch as the West leads the effort to resolve another African crisis. South Africa plays a leading role in peacekeeping in Africa and it is a continental business powerhouse.

It is fitting that we are now putting our considerable medical expertise and resources to use to save lives and fight this scourge.