Ebola Has Killed Almost 7,000, WHO Warns

Almost 7,000 people have died from Ebola across West Africa, with the World Health Organisation warning its figures may vastly underestimate the spread of the virus.

The official death toll has increased by 1,200 since the WHO released its last report on Wednesday, and is thought to include fatalities that were previously unreported.

More than 16,000 people have been diagnosed with Ebola in the current outbreak.

Although infection rates appear to be stabilising in Guinea and Liberia – two of the worst-hit nations – the number of new patients in Sierra Leone remains high, with 500 fresh cases consistently being reported each week.

The country had been promised 1,200 new beds for Ebola patients, but only 350 of them are up and running.

Five new treatment centres are scheduled to open next month, yet fears remain that there are not enough staff to cope with the onslaught of cases.

Ebola’s spread in Sierra Leone is also being fuelled by unsafe burials, which are causing up to 50% of the nation’s new cases.

The UN was hoping that the outbreak would be near its end by 1 December, but according to officials, the reality on the ground has proved very different.

Anthony Banbury, from the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response, said: “As long as there’s one person with Ebola out there, then the crisis isn’t over and Ebola is a risk to the people of that community, that country, this sub-region, this continent, this world.

“Our goal and what we will achieve is getting it down to zero, but there’s no doubt it’s going to be a long, hard fight.”

Meanwhile, a funeral service is being held in Maryland for a surgeon who died of Ebola after flying to his native Sierra Leone to treat patients.

Dr Martin Salia, a US citizen, has been cremated. He died at the University of Nebraska Medical Center on 17 November, and experts believe that a two-week delay before he received aggressive treatment made it impossible for him to make a full recovery.

Meanwhile, the health of an unnamed Italian doctor who also became infected with Ebola in Sierra Leone is deteriorating, according to the Rome clinic overseeing his treatment.

In a statement, the Lazzaro Spallanzani Institute added: “He has started to have gastro-intestinal problems – nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. He has a high fever, currently over 39C.”

Ebola Has Killed Almost 7,000, WHO Warns