WHO: Ebola outbreak deaths pass 5,000

WHO: Ebola outbreak deaths pass 5,000

The number of people killed by the worst outbreak of Ebola has risen to
5,160, the World Health Organisation (WHO) says.
The frequency of new cases no longer appears to be increasing in Guinea
and Liberia but remains high in Sierra Leone, the health agency added.
The Ebola outbreak is thought to have infected more than 14,000 people,
almost all of them in West Africa.
The deaths of three more people in Mali have been reported in the past
day.
“Transmission remains intense in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone” and the
frequency of new cases is still increasing in Sierra Leone, the WHO said in
its situation report.
According to our correspondent Imogen Foulkes, the report suggests that
the resources needed to contain the virus in Sierra Leone are not in place.
Only 19 of 53 planned treatment centres are operational, while out of the
370 trained burial teams required just 140 have begun work.
Health experts have argued that the rate of new cases is more significant
that the total death toll, as it reflects how fast the virus is spreading.
More than 2,830 people have died from Ebola in Liberia, with more than
1,100 deaths in both Guinea and Sierra Leone, the WHO said.
Mali has reported four deaths from Ebola, while there were eight reported
Ebola deaths in Nigeria, and one in the US.
The total number of deaths has increased by 200 since the WHO’s last
situation report on November 7, reports the BBC.