Authorities in Nigeria's megacity Lagos appealed Saturday for volunteers to help fight an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus after admitting they lacked medical personnel.

"We have a shortage of personnel. I won't lie about that. And that is why we are asking for volunteers," Lagos state health commissioner, Jide Idris, said on television, AFP reported.

Lagos, home to some 20 million people, has recorded nine confirmed cases of Ebola, including two deaths.

In its fight against the spread of the virus, the Lagos state government is offering incentives such as life insurance to medical volunteers, Idris said.

Public sector doctors suspended a pay strike on Thursday, but it was unclear whether they had resumed work across the country.

In the capital Abuja on Friday, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan declared the Ebola crisis a national emergency and approved the immediate release of 1.9 billion naira ($11.6 million, 8.7 million euros) to fund efforts to contain the spread of the virus.

The money will finance additional centres to isolate Ebola patients, screening at borders, tracing those exposed to the virus, and boosting public awareness.

A meeting of stakeholders will be held in Abuja on Monday to discuss strategies to curb the spread of Ebola, which has claimed nearly 1,000 lives in four west Africa nations: Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.

World Health Organization chief Margaret Chan, declaring the epidemic a global health emergency, said Friday it was the worst of its kind in four decades.

Chan urged the international community to step in and assist countries struggling to deal with the outbreak.

Jonathan has urged people to avoid large gatherings to help prevent the spread of the virus, which causes severe fever and, in the worst cases, unstoppable bleeding.

Spread by close contact with an infected person through bodily fluids such as sweat, blood and tissue, Ebola can fell victims within days.

Local media reported Saturday that two people had died in Nigeria's central Plateau state and about 20 have been hospitalised after they ingested an excessive amount salt which they believed could prevent Ebola.