The Foreign Minister said that even now we must learn from our combined experience of dealing with the Ebola epidemic. "This crisis has demonstrated how important it is to establish a 'pool' of medical and logistics experts which could be deployed in the event of future crises," he said.

The EU ministers of foreign affairs also agreed to appoint a coordinator at European level within the next few days.

Aid stepped up to over 100 million euros

The dramatic developments in West Africa call for additional action. The German government is to provide another 84.7 million euros to fight Ebola, bringing German assistance to over 100 million euros.

The additional funding is intended to make it possible for the German government to launch its own measures. In addition contributions are destined for non-governmental organisations and international organisations. The health systems in the affected countries and regions must be rebuilt and strengthened in the long term, stressed federal government spokesperson Christiane Wirtz on Friday. This will be a priority area of German development policy in the next few years.

Meeting of EU health ministers

EU health ministers met in Brussels on Thursday with Commissioner Antonio Borg, to discuss ways of coordinating action against Ebola. Federal Health Minister Hermann Gröhe reported that they had agreed on the following measures:

• With the support of the World Health Organization (WHO), travellers from the three worst affected countries are to be questioned and examined before leaving these countries in an effort to prevent any further spread of the virus.

• EU member states are to coordinate measures for travellers arriving in the EU, and keep one another informed. The focus here is on the countries receiving direct flights from West Africa.

• Within the EU there is to be an exchange of information on how best to ensure protection against infection in hospitals. The EU states intend to learn from one another.

• Should volunteers in West Africa become affected, the EU states will discuss how to increase the available capacities for flying them out safely.

Germany is well prepared

Germany is fully equipped to cope with any cases of infection. The country has seven special units trained and equipped to deal with life-threatening infectious diseases like Ebola. A total of 47 beds are currently available for immediate use. In these units Ebola patients can be treated round the clock in special isolation wards. A special system of airlocks and air circulation and filtration systems ensure that the virus cannot escape. Hospitals also have specially trained staff.

So far only three beds in the isolation wards have been needed. Currently one Ebola patient is being treated in Frankfurt. A patient treated in Hamburg has recovered and been released from hospital, while another patient treated in Leipzig has died. All three patients became infected in Africa. They were flown back in strict isolation to specialist units in Germany.

The Robert Koch Institute has no reports of new infections in Germany.

No threat to the population

Although the World Health Organization has declared an "international public health emergency", the population of Germany is not at risk say the Robert Koch Institute and the Bernard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine. The international airports in Düsseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg and Munich are well equipped and prepared to deal with highly infectious diseases. Emergency plans are in place and infected individuals can be isolated immediately.

Ebola Commissioner on the spot

Walter Lindner, the Ebola Commissioner who is responsible for steering cooperation of German federal ministries in the fight against Ebola has been to West Africa to find out more first hand. His trip to the crisis-affected region aimed to ensure measures are coordinated on the ground.

Ebola is a rare life-threatening infectious disease. In all probability fruit bats are the source of the virus, although this has not yet been definitively ascertained. Humans and animals can become infected if they come into contact with infected fruit bats. The disease is communicated from one person to another through direct contact with body fluids of victims (e.g. vomit, blood or sweat). Germany is supporting the clinical development of anti-Ebola drugs. It is unclear at the present time if and when an effective drug can be made available.