ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — The African Union says the largest Ebola outbreak in history is creating a sense of siege in affected communities during an emergency meeting.

The regional bloc has promised to send health care workers, but there are concerns about whether there is enough protective gear to keep them safe. Doctors and nurses are at high risk of infection, and a higher proportion of health workers have become infected in the West African outbreak than in any other previous one.

The outbreak began in Guinea and has spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Senegal, killing more than 2,000 people.

Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, chair of the AU Commission, told a meeting Monday that efforts to stop Ebola — like border closures and flights bans — have stigmatized the affected countries.