Obama: West Africa not out of the woods on Ebola

President Barack Obama meets with his National Security and Public Health teams to receive an update on the Ebola response, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington. At right is Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Lisa Monaco. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) President Barack Obama meets with his National Security and Public Health teams to receive an update on the Ebola response, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington. At right is Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Lisa Monaco. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

By Associated Press November 18, 2014 1 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Barack Obama says West Africa is “nowhere near out of the woods” on fighting Ebola. He said the disease remains a world threat as long as the outbreak continues.

Obama commented Tuesday as he met with his Ebola response team. The meeting came a day after a surgeon who contracted Ebola in his native Sierra Leone died at a Nebraska hospital after being rushed to the U.S. for treatment.

Obama says it’s important to “push forward” on efforts to stop Ebola at its source.

He called on Congress to approve his request for $6.2 billion in emergency spending to confront Ebola at its source in West Africa and to secure the U.S. against any possible spread. He wants lawmakers to act before they conclude their work for the year.