Ebola is spreading exponentially in Liberia, with
thousands of new cases expected in the next three weeks, the World Health
Organization (WHO) says.
Conventional methods to control the outbreak were
"not having an adequate impact", the UN's health agency added.
At least 2,100 people infected with Ebola have died so far
in the West African states of Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria this
year.
The WHO says 79 health workers have been killed by 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.
Transmission of the virus in Liberia was "already
intense", and taxis being used to transport infected patients appeared to
be "a hot source of potential virus transmission", the WHO said.
Ebola casualties
Up to 5 September
2,105
Ebola deaths - probable, confirmed and suspected
- ·
1,089 Liberia
- ·
517 Guinea
- ·
491 Sierra Leone
- ·
8 Nigeria
Source: WHO
"As soon as a
new Ebola treatment facility is opened, it immediately fills to overflowing
with patients, pointing to a large but previously invisible caseload," it
added.
"When patients
are turned away... they have no choice but to return to their communities and
homes, where they inevitably infect others."
The international
response to the crisis has been stepped up, with the UK and US both promising
to open new treatment centres in West Africa.
The British
military said it would build a 50-bed centre near Freetown, the capital of
Sierra Leone, while the US announced that it would send a 25-bed field hospital
to Liberia at a cost of $22 million.
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