The Latest: US, EU promise support to tackle Ebola

BENI, Congo (AP) — The Latest on Ebola (all times local):

2:55 p.m.

The top U.S. diplomat in Geneva says the United States will "provide more in the coming months" to help respond to the Ebola outbreak, while the European Union ambassador says the bloc will examine possibilities to scale up its response.

U.S. Charge d'Affaires Mark Cassayre also told a U.N. conference on Ebola Monday that the United States is calling on member states to increase their contributions to the response, which the World Health Organization says is underfunded.

EU ambassador Walter Stevens noted that the bloc has provided some $20 million in support since last year, plus in-kind and logistical support, and "will look into possibilities to scale up the response."

Nearly 1,700 people have died in Congo in the outbreak, and a first case appeared in the eastern city of Goma over the weekend.

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2 p.m.

The head of the World Health Organization says he is reconvening the U.N. agency's expert committee to assess whether or not the continuing Ebola outbreak in Congo warrants being declared a global emergency.

At a meeting convened in Geneva by WHO on Monday, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the spread of Ebola to Goma, a city of 2 million people was a potential "game-changer." He said the development was one WHO and Congolese officials had been prepared for and described the situation as one of the most complex humanitarian emergencies ever faced.

Still, Tedros said the U.N. agency is "confident" in the response measures put in place and predicted there would be no further Ebola cases in Goma.

Tedros did not say when the expert committee would be convened; the group has met three times previously and decided each time against declaring the...