WHO says Ebola outbreak continues to spread in West Africa Liz Szabo, USA TODAY 5:05 p.m. EDT October 23, 2014 Ebola is racing ahead of efforts to contain its spread, according to the World Health Organization. There are now nearly 10,000 reported cases – a tally that clearly underestimates that true scope. AFP 534579445 I DES CIV - (Photo: ISSOUF SANOGO, AFP/Getty Images) Ebola is racing ahead of efforts to contain its spread, according to the World Health Organization. There are nearly 10,000 reported cases -- a tally that underestimates the true scope of the epidemic as overwhelmed health workers fall behind in their record-keeping, the WHO says. About half of Ebola patients have died. Ebola has now reached every district in Sierra Leone and all but one district in Liberia, with intense transmission in these countries capital cities, according to the WHO. West Africa today is nowhere near goals set by the United Nations to get the outbreak under control, according to the WHO. Even with the modest goal of meeting 70% of the regions needs by Dec. 1, affected countries would need at least 16 more labs to help medical staff quickly diagnose patients, 230 more dead body management teams to bury or cremate bodies in ways that dont spread Ebola, ; 4,388 more hospital beds; and 20,000 contract tracers to find and isolate potential cases. Today, Liberia has enough beds for only 23% of patients, according to the WHO. That means 77% of Ebola patients are languishing and dying at home or, worse, in the street. Infectious disease expert Michael Osterholm said hes concerned that Ebola is poised to spill over the borders to other African countries, such as Ivory Coast. Of the eight districts in Guinea and Liberia that border Ivory Coast, all but one have reported Ebola cases, the WHO said. In August, Ivory Coast closed its borders with Ebola-affected countries and temporarily suspended flights.
Posted on: Fri, 24 Oct 2014 00:51:50 +0000
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