[h=1]Ebola death toll rises as outbreak spins out of control[/h] By Javier Blas in London
The death toll from the outbreak of Ebola virus in west Africa has climbed to 826, nearly double the number of fatalities of the previous worst-ever epidemic, according to figures released by the World Health Organisation.
The update suggests the outbreak is spinning out of control, with more than 50 deaths reported in three days from 28-30 July, as the spread of the virus outpaces efforts to contain it in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
“The surge in the number of new cases . . . calls for concentrated efforts by all to address the identified problems such as health facility transmission and effective contact tracing,” the WHO said.
The rapid increase in the death toll comes after the three west African nations announced over the weekend extra measures to combat the outbreak, including calling in the army to enforce quarantines in several villages.
In a statement the trio said the new measures would focus on the “cross-border regions that have more than 70 per cent [of the cases] of the epidemic”. They added that the “border areas will be isolated by policy and the military”.
Ivory Coast, a neighbour to the three affected nations, also participated in the meeting, although it has not registered any cases.
There is no known cure or vaccine for the Ebola virus, which develops within 2-21 days of contagion. The disease, which has a 50-90 per cent mortality rate, causes vomiting, diarrhoea and internal and external bleeding.
The outbreak is the most serious since the disease was first recognised nearly 40 years ago. The previous worst was in Uganda in 2000, which killed 425, and the 280 victims who perished in the first known outbreak in 1976 in a remote village near the Ebola river in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Speaking on Friday Margaret Chan, WHO director-general, warned that “if the situation continues to deteriorate, the consequences can be catastrophic in terms of lost lives, but also severe socio-economic disruption and a high risk of spread to other countries”.
She added: “This outbreak is moving faster than our efforts to control it.”
The epidemic is pushing the national healthcare system of the thee impoverished countries to their limits, with dozens of doctors and nurses infected. The top doctors fighting the disease in Sierra Leone and Liberia have died after contracting Ebola.
A US aid worker who had contracted Ebola arrived on Saturday in the US for treatment at an isolation unit in an Atlanta hospital. The Associated Press reported that Kent Brantly, the infected doctor, walked into the hospital wearing a biohazard suit after travelling to the US in a specially equipped aeroplane.
Ebola death toll rises as outbreak spins out of control - FT.com
