The First International Course for the prevention and confrontation of Ebola virus in the region of the Americas begins today at the "Pedro Kouri" Tropical Medicine Institute in Havana.

The initiative is a result of the Technical Meeting by experts and executives for the prevention of that epidemic, which took place in Cuba on October 29-30 with the attendance of 278 experts and executives from 34 regional countries.

The meeting was also attended by representatives from the World Health Organization and the Pan-American Health Organization, as well as other international and regional institutions.

In addition of the course, the meeting also proposed to develop a series of actions, among them the establishment of an epidemiological surveillance in centers destined for people from areas of Ebola transmission, with risk of having the disease.

It also includes the proposal to reinforce the country's security system and its coordination with the National Focal Point for the International Health Regulations (IHR), with the objective of strengthening the adequate national and regional responses.

Other issue to be considered is the strengthening of intersectorial relations to borders to get more complete information about ships, crews and travelers arriving to each state, and boost the IHR certification process in points of entry.

Strengthening production and distribution of communication products through different supports and media aimed at vulnerable peoples, prioritizing health workers, are also included among the experts' proposals.

The meeting also evidenced the regional countries' willingness to work together in the confrontation of the epidemic that has killed almost 5,000 lives in West Africa.