A new research paper indicates that controlling the outbreak of Ebola virus in West Africa is the most effective way to lower international risk. The research paper, published October 20, 2014 in The Lancet, indicates that continued growth and persistence of the life-threatening virus will likely lead to additional cases of mortality.

Dr. Kamran Khan, physician and researcher at St. Michael’s Hospital, indicates that the continued and growing epidemic of the Ebola virus outbreak is likely to lead to the virus being exported to other countries, such as Canada, through air travel.

According to Dr. Khan, who studies global airline travel patterns to help predict the spread of diseases, each month, three air travelers infected with Ebola are likely to leave West Africa, an area experiencing a widespread outbreak of the virus, leading the number to increase as the epidemic grows.

Dr. Khan and his co-authors noted that it is necessary for public health agencies and hospitals to be prepared in other countries. The risk of international spread would be increased if the Ebola epidemic were to spread to other countries, particularly those with weak public health systems.

Dr. Khan said in a statement, “The international community must be mindful and be ready to support the early detection and control of cases should they be imported into resource-limited countries.” He continued, “Given that these countries have limited medical and public health resources, they may have difficulty quickly identifying and effectively responding to imported Ebola cases.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of October 15, 2014, the agency is implementing enhanced screening at five airports in the U.S. that receive over 94 percent of travelers from Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.