Ebola is spreading exponentially in Liberia, with thousands
of new cases expected in the next three weeks, the World Health Organisation
says.
Conventional methods to control the outbreak were “not
having an adequate impact”, the UN’s health agency added.
At least 2,100 people have died of the virus in the West
African states of Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria this year.
The WHO says 79 health workers have died from the virus. Organisations
combating the outbreak needed to scale-up efforts “three-to-four fold”, the WHO
said.
It highlighted Liberia’s Montserrado county, where 1,000
beds were needed for infected Ebola patients but only 240 were available,
leading to people being turned away from treatment centres.
Taxis being used to transport infected patients appeared to
be “a hot source of potential virus transmission”, the WHO said.
The Ebola disease spreads between humans by direct contact
with infected blood, bodily fluids or organs, or indirectly through contact
with contaminated environments.
The current outbreak has mortality rate of about 55%. Liberia
has the highest number of reported cases and deaths, with more than 1,000
casualties so far.
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