image source, AFP
More than 1,500 people have died in the Ebola epidemic that has affected West Africa for the past six months.
The president of the international NGO Doctors Without Borders said during a meeting at the United Nations headquarters in New York that the world is losing the battle against the Ebola epidemic that is affecting West Africa.
Dr. Joanne Liu said that six months after the outbreak of the infection in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the international community has failed to contain what it called a transnational threat.
The deadly virus has caused more than 1,500 deaths in what is considered the worst Ebola epidemic since its discovery in the center of the African continent nearly four decades ago, and experts have warned that many thousands of people could be infected in the coming weeks.
Liu added that due to inaction, there are fewer medical personnel available and so some treatment centers have become places where patients go to die.
The UN coordinator for the response to the crisis, David Nabarro, affirmed that as many health workers as possible are being brought to the region to deal with the epidemic.
image source, Getty
«Out of control»
Meanwhile, the Democratic Republic of Congo claimed 31 deaths from Ebola on its territory, in an outbreak that authorities say is unrelated to the one affecting West Africa.
For his part, the head of the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Tom Frieden, said Tuesday after a trip to Africa that the situation is worse than expected. Was expected.
Speaking to CNN, Frieden apart from the fact that we have seen Ebola outbreaks before and this is the first epidemic, which is spreading in many countries and out of control. «It’s worse than the numbers show and it’s going to get much worse in the near future.»
Frieden said it is urgent to act fast. «The action today is worth more than in a couple of weeks or months; what we are seeing is a spiral, a rapid increase in cases, increasingly difficult to manage.»
He added that «the more we can get in there and slow them down, the fewer cases there will be in the coming months.»