#News: 'Ebola virus has killed more than 1,900'

[CNN]

 (CNN) -- More than 3,500 people have been infected by the Ebola virus in Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Nigeria since the first documented cases in December, according to new figures released Wednesday by the World Health Organization. More than 1,900 people have died.

There is also a smaller, unrelated outbreak in Congo and at least one confirmed case in Senegal, according to WHO Director General Dr. Margaret Chan.

She characterized the outbreak as a "global threat" and encouraged the international community to do more to combat it. Chan complimented the United States for its "very strong support" through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Man escapes Ebola clinic in Liberia     Human trial of new Ebola vaccine begins     Doctor speaks about battle with Ebola               A health worker wearing a protective suit conducts an Ebola prevention drill at the port in Monrovia on Friday, August 29. Health officials say the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa is the deadliest ever.        Senegalese Health Minister Awa Marie Coll-Seck gives a press conference on August 29 in Dakar to confirm the first case of Ebola in Senegal. The health minister announced that a young Guinean had tested positive for the deadly virus.       Volunteers working with the bodies of Ebola victims in Kenema, Sierra Leone, sterilize their uniforms on Sunday, August 24.        A Liberian Ministry of Health worker checks people for symptoms of Ebola at a checkpoint near the international airport in Dolo Town, Liberia, on August 24.       A guard stands at a checkpoint on Saturday, August 23, between the cities of Kenema and Kailahun in Sierra Leone, which have been quarantined due to the Ebola outbreak.        A burial team from the Liberian Ministry of Health unloads the bodies of Ebola victims onto a funeral pyre at a crematorium on Friday, August 22, in Marshall, Liberia.        A humanitarian group worker, right, throws water in a small bag to West Point residents behind the fence of a holding area, as they wait for a second consignment of food from the Liberian government to be handed out in Monrovia, Liberia. The military began enforcing a quarantine on West Point, a congested slum of 75,000, fearing a spread of the Ebola virus.       Dr. Kent Brantly leaves Emory University Hospital on Thursday, August 21, after being declared no longer infectious from the Ebola virus. Brantly was one of two American missionaries brought to Emory for treatment of the deadly virus, which has killed more than 1,350 people in West Africa since March, according to the World Health Organization.       Ebola survivor Dr. Kent Brantly, right, hugs a member of the Emory University Hospital staff after being released from treatment in Atlanta on August 21.        Family members of West Point district commissioner Miata Flowers flee the slum in Monrovia, Liberia, while being escorted by the Ebola Task Force on Wednesday, August 20.       An Ebola Task Force soldier beats a local resident while enforcing a quarantine on the West Point slum on August 20.       Local residents gather around a very sick Saah Exco, 10, in a back alley of the West Point slum on Tuesday, August 19. The boy was one of the patients that was pulled out of a holding center for suspected Ebola patients after the facility was overrun and closed by a mob on August 16. A local clinic then refused to treat Saah, according to residents, because of the danger of infection. Although he was never tested for Ebola, Saah's mother and brother died in the holding center.       A burial team wearing protective clothing retrieves the body of a 60-year-old Ebola victim from his home near Monrovia on Sunday, August 17.        lija Siafa, 6, stands in the rain with his 10-year-old sister, Josephine, while waiting outside Doctors Without Borders' Ebola treatment center in Monrovia on August 17. The newly built facility will initially have 120 beds, making it the largest-ever facility for Ebola treatment and isolation.        Brett Adamson, a staff member from Doctors Without Borders, hands out water to sick Liberians hoping to enter the new Ebola treatment center on August 17.       Workers prepare the new Ebola treatment center on August 17.       A body, reportedly a victim of Ebola, lies on a street corner in Monrovia on Saturday, August 16.        Liberian police depart after firing shots in the air while trying to protect an Ebola burial team in the West Point slum of Monrovia on August 16. A crowd of several hundred local residents reportedly drove away the burial team and their police escort. The mob then forced open an Ebola isolation ward and took patients out, saying the Ebola epidemic is a hoax.       A crowd enters the grounds of an Ebola isolation center in the West Point slum on August 16. The mob was reportedly shouting, "No Ebola in West Point."       A health worker disinfects a corpse after a man died in a classroom being used as an Ebola isolation ward Friday, August 15, in Monrovia.       A boy tries to prepare his father before they are taken to an Ebola isolation ward August 15 in Monrovia.       Kenyan health officials take passengers' temperature as they arrive at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Thursday, August 14, in Nairobi, Kenya.       A hearse carries the coffin of Spanish priest Miguel Pajares after he died at a Madrid hospital on Tuesday, August 12. Pajares, 75, contracted Ebola while he was working as a missionary in Liberia.       A member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention leads a training session on Ebola infection control Monday, August 11, in Lagos, Nigeria.       Health workers in Kenema, Sierra Leone, screen people for the Ebola virus on Saturday, August 9, before they enter the Kenema Government Hospital.       A health worker at the Kenema Government Hospital carries equipment used to decontaminate clothing and equipment on August 9.       Health care workers wear protective gear at the Kenema Government Hospital on August 9.       Paramedics in protective suits move Pajares, the infected Spanish priest, at Carlos III Hospital in Madrid on Thursday, August 7. He died five days later.       Nurses carry the body of an Ebola victim from a house outside Monrovia on Wednesday, August 6.       A Nigerian health official wears protective gear August 6 at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.       Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta sit in on a conference call about Ebola with CDC team members deployed in West Africa on Tuesday, August 5.       Aid worker Nancy Writebol, wearing a protective suit, gets wheeled on a gurney into Emory University Hospital in Atlanta on August 5. A medical plane flew Writebol from Liberia to the United States after she and her colleague Dr. Kent Brantly were infected with the Ebola virus in the West African country.        Nigerian health officials are on hand to screen passengers at Murtala Muhammed International Airport on Monday, August 4.       A man gets sprayed with disinfectant Sunday, August 3, in Monrovia.       Dr. Kent Brantly, right, gets out of an ambulance after arriving at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta on Saturday, August 2. Brantly was infected with the Ebola virus in Africa, but he was brought back to the United States for further treatment.       Nurses wearing protective clothing are sprayed with disinfectant Friday, August 1, in Monrovia after they prepared the bodies of Ebola victims for burial.       A nurse disinfects the waiting area at the ELWA Hospital in Monrovia on Monday, July 28.        Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, right, walks past an Ebola awareness poster in downtown Monrovia as Liberia marked the 167th anniversary of its independence Saturday, July 26. The Liberian government dedicated the anniversary to fighting the deadly disease.        In this photo provided by Samaritan's Purse, Dr. Kent Brantly, left, treats an Ebola patient in Monrovia. On July 26, the North Carolina-based group said Brantly tested positive for the disease. Days later, Brantly arrived in Georgia to be treated at an Atlanta hospital, becoming the first Ebola patient to knowingly be treated in the United States.       A 10-year-old boy whose mother was killed by the Ebola virus walks with a doctor from the aid organization Samaritan's Purse after being taken out of quarantine Thursday, July 24, in Monrovia.       A doctor puts on protective gear at the treatment center in Kailahun, Sierra Leone, on Sunday, July 20.       Members of Doctors Without Borders adjust tents in the isolation area in Kailahun on July 20.       Boots dry in the Ebola treatment center in Kailahun on July 20.       Red Cross volunteers prepare to enter a house where an Ebola victim died in Pendembu, Sierra Leone, on Friday, July 18.       Dr. Jose Rovira of the World Health Organization takes a swab from a suspected Ebola victim in Pendembu on July 18.       Red Cross volunteers disinfect each other with chlorine after removing the body of an Ebola victim from a house in Pendembu on July 18.       A dressing assistant prepares a Doctors Without Borders member before entering an isolation ward Thursday, July 17, in Kailahun.       A doctor works in the field laboratory at the Ebola treatment center in Kailahun on July 17.       Doctors Without Borders staff prepare to enter the isolation ward at an Ebola treatment center in Kailahun on July 17.       A health worker with disinfectant spray walks down a street outside the government hospital in Kenema, Sierra Leone, on Thursday, July 10.        Dr. Mohamed Vandi of the Kenema Government Hospital trains community volunteers who will aim to educate people about Ebola in Sierra Leone.       Police block a road outside Kenema to stop motorists for a body temperature check on Wednesday, July 9.       A woman has her temperature taken at a screening checkpoint on the road out of Kenema on July 9.       A member of Doctors Without Borders puts on protective gear at the isolation ward of the Donka Hospital in Conakry, Guinea, on Saturday, June 28.       Airport employees check passengers in Conakry before they leave the country on Thursday, April 10.       CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta, left, works in the World Health Organization's mobile lab in Conakry. Gupta traveled to Guinea in April to report on the deadly virus.       A Guinea-Bissau customs official watches arrivals from Conakry on Tuesday, April 8.       Egidia Almeida, a nurse in Guinea-Bissau, scans a Guinean citizen coming from Conakry on April 8.        A scientist separates blood cells from plasma cells to isolate any Ebola RNA and test for the virus Thursday, April 3, at the European Mobile Laboratory in Gueckedou, Guinea.       Members of Doctors Without Borders carry a dead body in Gueckedou on Friday, April 1.        Gloves and boots used by medical personnel dry in the sun April 1 outside a center for Ebola victims in Gueckedou.       A health specialist works Monday, March 31, in a tent laboratory set up at a Doctors Without Borders facility in southern Guinea.       Health specialists work March 31 at an isolation ward for patients at the facility in southern Guinea.       Workers associated with Doctors Without Borders prepare isolation and treatment areas Friday, March 28, in Guinea.        Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa Ebola outbreak in Africa HIDE CAPTION   << <      1      2      3      4      5      6      7      8      9      10      11      12      13      14      15      16      17      18      19      20      21      22      23      24      25      26      27      28      29      30      31      32      33      34      35      36      37      38      39      40      41      42      43      44      45      46      47      48      49      50      51      52      53      54      55      56      57      58      59      60      61      62      63      64   > >>     Photos: Ebola outbreak in Africa    CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden said the official numbers are lower than the actual number of cases, because families afraid of the stigma associated with Ebola do not report sick loved ones. Others are caring for patients in isolation.

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Frieden characterized the outbreak as "spiraling out of control" Tuesday in a conversation on CNN's "New Day."

"What we're seeing is a ... hugely fast increase in cases that's harder and harder to manage," he said. "The more we can get in there and tamp that down, the fewer cases we'll have in the weeks and months to come."

Dr. David Nabarro, the senior United Nations system coordinator for Ebola, said that in observing the disease on the ground, he noticed that a number of the infections have spread between family members who are caring for the sick.

They must care for those infected with Ebola because there are not enough hospital beds, nor are there enough ambulances to transport people safely. If the patients do get to a health care facility, there is not a good system of infection control, nor is there enough protective equipment to go around.

Nabarro said there is a desperate need for personnel to help on the ground as well as for nurses, doctors and ambulance drivers in West Africa. The area also needs money to fight the outbreak -- at least $600 million, by some estimates.

The fact that airlines have stopped flying to the countries affected has kept people isolated and has inadvertently made the outbreak worse, making it harder for staff and supplies to make it there.

New cases in Nigeria

Nigeria's minister of health said there are three new confirmed cases of Ebola in Port Harcourt, the country's oil hub.

The ministry believes other cases will be confirmed there shortly.

Ebola initially arrived in Nigeria through an infected air traveler.

The passenger landed in Lagos on July 20 and died five days later. One person who was put into quarantine after he came into contact with the passenger fled the city and sought treatment in Port Harcourt. A doctor who treated him developed symptoms and died a little more than a week later.

Not knowing he was sick, the doctor treated other patients. He also came into contact with members of the community after family and friends visited to celebrate the birth of a baby and after members of his church visited him at the hospital.

Nigerian health leaders are monitoring the health of more than 200 people who may have had contact with the doctor. About 60 more are considered to have had high-risk or very high-risk exposure.

The other confirmed Nigerian cases now include the doctor's spouse, who is also a doctor, and a patient at the hospital where the doctor was treated. Staff members are being tested for Ebola.

With the help of the CDC and the WHO, an isolation facility has been set up to handle additional Ebola cases.

Civic unrest and security issues, coupled with the public's fear of Ebola, are among the concerns. The military has been called in to escort people to the clinic.

More need for help

Dr. Joanne Liu, the international president of Doctors Without Borders, spoke at a special United Nations briefing on Wednesday, criticizing the international community's "lethally inadequate" response to the global threat.

The group, also known as Medecins Sans Frontieres, has been on the ground fighting the outbreak since March.

Liu made what her organization described as an "unprecedented call" for U.N. members with the technology to intervene in a biological threat to do so immediately.

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"Six months into the worst Ebola epidemic in history, the world is losing the battle to contain it," she said. "Leaders are failing to come to grips with this transnational threat. The WHO announcement on August 8 that the epidemic constituted a 'public health emergency of international concern' has not led to decisive action, and states have essentially joined a global coalition of inaction," she said.

"The clock is ticking, and Ebola is winning," Liu warned. "The time for meetings and planning is over. It is now time to act. Every day of inaction means more deaths and the slow collapse of societies."

British patient gets better

Medical personnel have been particularly vulnerable in this Ebola outbreak.

William Pooley, a British volunteer nurse who cared for Ebola patients in Sierra Leone, was the first Briton known to be infected.

Doctors flew him back to be treated in an isolation unit at the Royal Free Hospital in North London. He stayed there for 10 days of treatment that included the experimental drug ZMapp, which was also used to treat two American medical personnel last month who have since been released from the hospital.

Pooley's doctors released him from care on Tuesday.

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Source: CNN

[CNN]