Ebola Virus: Situation In West Africa Deteriorating, Says WHO Report

A latest update by the World health organisation on the Ebola outbreak says that the situation is deteriorating in the Wes African nations of Liberia, Seirra Leone and Guinea.

The report cautions that news of a fall in the number of reported cases of Ebola in Liberia in the last few weeks is due to overwhelmed ground workers unable to accurately collect data of the number of people affected with EVD.

"There is no evidence that the EVD epidemic in West Africa is being brought under control, though there is evidence of a decline in incidence in the districts of Lofa in Liberia, and Kailahun and Kenema in Sierra Leone," reads the report.

The report also highlights the increasing number of health care workers (HCW) becoming infected with the Ebola virus. It says 401 HCWs are  known to have been infected with the disease till Oct.5. Of these 232, 58 percent, have died.

At least, 3,879 people have died in West Africa as of Sunday, Oct. 5 and another 8,033 have been sickened in the epidemic, the WHO reports. Liberia is the worst affected with 2,210 people dead and 3,924 infected.

The WHO has deployed extra HCWs and helped open more laboratories and isolation units in the affected countries. But  there is still a scarcity of beds with Guinea falling short by 76 percent.

A new team has been formed to conduct safe burials.

Funds are also inadequate to deal with the situation. TheWHO chief Dr. Margaret Chan and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon both have called for additional funds and resources, but commitments are falling short.

The U.N. requested $1 billion in mid-September; so far, $257 million has been received and another $162 million pledged, according to WHO spokesman Eric Porterfield, reports McClatchy.com.