The Ebola outbreak in West Africa, which has already killed almost a thousand people, is also having an economic impact on countries there, officials say.
Many Western companies are pulling their employees out of the hardest-hit countries of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, leading to the disruption of business and other economic activities there and elsewhere.
That adds another layer of urgency in the battle against the deadly virus, officials say.
The impact is not restricted to just the three countries' hardest hit.
"We must make sure it is controlled and contained as quickly as possible," said Olusegun Aganga, trade minister in Nigeria.
"Once that is done, I don't think it will have a lasting impact on the economy," said Aganga, whose country has confirmed nine cases of Ebola and declared a national emergency.
The economic problems are all the worse because the virus has struck countries whose economies are the most vulnerable in the region and has been the most devastating in their poorest rural areas, placing huge financial burdens on already fragile governments.
The Word Bank has estimated that in Guinea, where the outbreak began in March, economic growth will shrink this year to 3.5 percent, down from 4.5 percent.
Other economists have cut their forecasts for growth in Sierra Leone and Liberia as well.
The United Nations has declared the current crisis an international public health emergency, and although it hasn't called for any trade or travel bans it has urged people who've been in contact with patients to voluntarily refrain from international travel.
The U.N.'s World Health Organization is calling on member states as well as private organizations to increase funding and help major international organizations combat history's worst Ebola outbreak.
"The outbreak is moving faster than we can control it," said Margaret Chan, WHO director general. "Countries affected to date simply do not have the capacity to manage an outbreak of this size and complexity on their own."
The spread of Ebola can have a ripple effect far beyond its geographical center, experts say.
"When you have a widespread outbreak of Ebola, you can end up with a panic," says John Campbell, senior fellow for Africa studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. "People won't go to work. Expatriates will leave. Economic activity will slow. Fields won't get planted."
Some international airlines, including British Airways and Emirates, have suspended flights to the region while several regional airlines have cancelled flights between affected countries.
Western companies involved in mining, an industry vital to the region, have placed travel restrictions on their workers and have been evacuating non-essential employees.
