As of 6 September 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported a total of 4,293 suspected cases and 2,296 deaths (2,552 cases and 1,386 deaths being laboratory confirmed). The epidemic started and is still ongoing in West Africa, Another outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which has 62 possible and confirmed cases and 35 deaths as of 9 September 2014, is believed to be unrelated to the West African outbreakMany experts believe that the official numbers substantially understate the size of the outbreak because of families' widespread reluctance to report cases. Many of the areas that have been infected are areas of extreme poverty without even running water or soap to help control the spread of disease
Médecins Sans Frontières described the situation as being "totally out of control" in late June. Urging the world to offer aid to the affected regions, the Director-General said, "Countries affected to date simply do not have the capacity to manage an outbreak of this size and complexity on their own. I urge the international community to provide this support on the most urgent basis possible
Speaking at a United Nations (UN) briefing on 2 September, Joanne Liu, international president of Médecins Sans Frontières, criticized the lack of assistance from UN member countries.
"Six months into the worst Ebola epidemic in history, the world is losing the battle to contain it. In West Africa, cases and deaths continue to surge. Riots are breaking out. Isolation centers are overwhelmed. Health workers on the front lines are becoming infected and are dying in shocking numbers. Others have fled in fear, leaving people without care for even the most common illnesses. Entire health systems have crumbled. Ebola treatment centers are reduced to places where people go to die alone, where little more than palliative care is offered. It is impossible to keep up with the sheer number of infected people pouring into facilities. In Sierra Leone, infectious bodies are rotting in the streets.
Speaking in September after visiting Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea, Tom Frieden, director of the US CDC, said, "There is a window of opportunity to tamp this down, but that window is closing ... we need action now to scale up the response.
Source: Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Médecins Sans Frontières described the situation as being "totally out of control" in late June. Urging the world to offer aid to the affected regions, the Director-General said, "Countries affected to date simply do not have the capacity to manage an outbreak of this size and complexity on their own. I urge the international community to provide this support on the most urgent basis possible
Speaking at a United Nations (UN) briefing on 2 September, Joanne Liu, international president of Médecins Sans Frontières, criticized the lack of assistance from UN member countries.
"Six months into the worst Ebola epidemic in history, the world is losing the battle to contain it. In West Africa, cases and deaths continue to surge. Riots are breaking out. Isolation centers are overwhelmed. Health workers on the front lines are becoming infected and are dying in shocking numbers. Others have fled in fear, leaving people without care for even the most common illnesses. Entire health systems have crumbled. Ebola treatment centers are reduced to places where people go to die alone, where little more than palliative care is offered. It is impossible to keep up with the sheer number of infected people pouring into facilities. In Sierra Leone, infectious bodies are rotting in the streets.
Speaking in September after visiting Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea, Tom Frieden, director of the US CDC, said, "There is a window of opportunity to tamp this down, but that window is closing ... we need action now to scale up the response.
Source: Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
