Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has appealed to her countrymen not to panic over the Ebola outbreak, which is suspected to have claimed at least six lives in the West African country.

In a written statement, the president said the situation was being managed well by the Health Ministry, working with international partners, such as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, whose representatives were expected to arrive shortly in Liberia.

“We do not believe that one needs to do anything more than take precaution, follow the instructions and advice of the Ministry of Health team,” Johnson Sirleaf said.

She dismissed the recent recommendation by the senate to close the border with neighbouring Guinea, the origin of the Ebola outbreak that has spread to several countries in the region.

“This is not a thing for politicians,” the president said.

“We ask the media, we ask politicians and we ask everybody not to create panic in the country. By talking things when you don’t have the details, you simply make people afraid and that’s not good.”

Ebola is one of the most contagious viral diseases known, often resulting in death. There is no vaccine for the virus, which has a fatality rate of up to 90 per cent, according to the World Health Organization.