TheCable

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned of the “exponential rate” of the spread of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in Liberia, saying thousands of new cases could spring up in the next three weeks.

According to a BBC report, the conventional methods employed to curb the outbreak were “not having an adequate impact”.

About 2,100 have been reported dead in the four countries involved, with Liberia bearing over 1,000 of the casualties.

The UN health agency believes that greater danger lies ahead.

As 79 health workers have died from the virus, WHO urged organisations combating the outbreak to scale-up efforts “three-to-four fold”.

It stated that Liberia’s Montserrado county, where about 1,000 beds were needed for infected Ebola patients, had just 240. This meant a lot of persons had to be rejected rather than admitted, creating a room for swift spread.

Taxis being used to transport infected patients appeared to be “a hot source of potential virus transmission”, the WHO said.

Despite the fact that the rate of mortality of the current outbreak still stands at 55 per cent, more casualties have been recorded than ever experienced in the history of the outbreak.