Ebola is spreading 9 times faster than 2 months ago

The number of Ebola cases in Sierra Leone continues to rise rapidly. A report by the Africa Governance Initiative (AGI) says that in many rural areas, the virus is spreading nine times faster than it was two months ago.

Incidence is also rising in the capital Freetown, with the number of new infections recorded each day six times higher than two months ago.

The news comes as the WHO says the number of cases is stabilising.

The spread of the disease has only begun to slow in Bombali, a region in northern Sierra Leone. AGI has seen reports that transmission rates are stabilizing in Liberia, but is not sure why.

Burials have “improved significantly” in Liberia and Sierra Leone, with the number of bodies buried within 24 hours increasing.

Burying the dead “safely, promptly and with dignity” will be one of the main ways to cut off the transmission of the disease.

Currently, more than half of all virus infections are transmitted through corpses, because according to local customs, the dead body must be washed.

Last week, AGI warned that even if existing international commitments were met by December, there would still be a shortage of more than 6,000 hospital beds in Sierra Leone and Guinea.

Nearly half of planned hospital beds in the three countries at the epicenter of the pandemic will lack the necessary medical staff.

AGI's estimate is based on a worst-case scenario according to WHO, which predicts 10,000 new infections per week by December.

“The international community misjudged the impact of the Ebola outbreak in the first few months and is now repeating that mistake by failing to respond quickly enough,” said Nick Thompson, chief executive of AGI.

He called on more countries to follow the example of the US, UK and Cuba, sending troops and medical staff to West Africa to support efforts to contain the disease at its source.

The death toll from Ebola has reached nearly 5,000 people – mostly in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.

WHO said that as of the end of October there had been 13,567 cases of infection since the outbreak began.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has warned of “unnecessary” strict restrictions on the travel of health workers returning from West Africa.

Canada and Australia have banned entry to citizens from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, while several US states have imposed quarantines on health workers returning from those countries.

Ebola death toll as of October 29

Total: 4,951 deaths.

Liberia: 2,413

Sierra Leone: 1,510

Guinea: 1,018

Nigeria: 8

United States: 1

Mali: 1

Source: World Health Organization

According to Dan Tri