Global experts issued stark new warnings of the scale of West Africa’s Ebola outbreak on Tuesday, with the United States’ government estimating between 550,000 and 1.4 million people might be infected in the region by January.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said its projection was based on data from late August and did not take into account a planned U.S mission to fight the disease, so the upper end of the forecast was unlikely.
However, it followed research by experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) and Imperial College, which estimated that 20,000 people risked infection within six weeks — months earlier than previous forecasts, Reuters reports.
It warned that the disease might become a permanent feature of life in West Africa.
The worst Ebola outbreak on record has already killed over 2,800 people – more than the combined total of all previous outbreaks. The disease has marched across much of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, killing dozens of health workers and crippling economies recovering from years of conflict.
Outbreaks in Nigeria and Senegal appear for now to have been contained. But nations across the region fear contagion and, against experts’ advice, have shuttered borders and restricted travel, complicating international efforts to fight the disease.
“I am confident the most dire projections will not come to pass,” CDC director Dr. Thomas Frieden, told reporters.
No comments:
Post a Comment