Kerry appeals to countries to step up efforts to combat Ebola

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday appealed to the international community to do more to help contain the spread of Ebola, and urged countries not to shut their borders. Speaking alongside his British counterpart, Philip Hammond, Kerry also appealed to airlines to keep flying to West Africa. "I am here this morning to make an urgent plea to countries in the world to step up even further," Kerry said. "While we are making progress, we are not where we can say that we need to be, and there are additional needs that have to be met in order for the global community to properly respond to this challenge to make sure we protect people in all of our countries," he said. Kerry's comments come amid reports on Wednesday that the United States will step up screening of travelers arriving from Ebola-stricken countries as soon as this weekend and health officials announced the death of the first patient diagnosed with the deadly virus on U.S. soil. Kerry appealed for budget support and cash for Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, the countries at the center of the current outbreak. He also called on the international community to step up with treatment centers, medical equipment and non-medical support such as generators and incinerators. "All of these things are frankly urgent in order to be able to quickly move to contain the spread of Ebola," Kerry said, adding, "We need airlines to continue to operate in West Africa and we need borders to remain open." (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Mohammad Zargham and Susan Heavey)