(VOVworld) – The World Health Organization has urged East Asian and Pacific countries to strengthen the defenses against the Ebola outbreak. WHO chief Margaret Chan told a meeting in Manila on Monday that the region of 1.8 billion people has been a hotspot for many emerging diseases including Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and bird flu. But it has so far been free from the Ebola virus ravaging parts of West Africa. Chan said the countries should be well-prepared for the worst case.

A journalist holds an Ebola handbook distributed by the World Health Organization (WHO) during the 65th Session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific in Manila on October 13, 2014.

In related news, the European Union has set Thursday for a meeting of health ministers to discuss screening travelers from Ebola-infected West African countries. The talks are intended "to coordinate the actions of member states" in the absence of any formal agreement on monitoring travelers to Europe.

The WHO says the death toll from the Ebola virus in West Africa has now surpassed 4,000.