Officials from the World Health Organization released a new report saying that there is a high possibility that there could be a spike in the number of Ebola cases that are developing each week within the West African regions hardest hit by the current outbreak. The WHO reports says not there could be as many as 10,000 new cases of Ebola weekly by December, which is 10 times the current rate of infection.
According to Ebola Emergency Response Mission director, Anthony Banbury, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone are the three countries that have been the recipient of the most devastating results of the current Ebola outbreak. They are also drastically unprepared to deal with the crisis. Based on present statistics, the agency says that there will only be about 4,300 treatment stations that will be available in these countries by early December. Current projections say that even this already inadequate quantity of of beds will not have the appropriate number of medical staff members to look after the patients. Banbury says that, if the current acceleration of cases is not brought under control, the sheer number of patients could easily overwhelm health workers.
To give an example of the actual scenario, Banbury said that, at the moment, there are only 50 safe burial teams in the area that are available to dispose of Ebola corpses, when the actual requirement for the current scale of infection is 500. Health workers also need additional protective gear and about 1,000 more vehicles for transportation where now they only have 69, he added.
In a statement, Banbury said, "We are fighting for people who are alive and healthy today, but will become infected by a bola and die if we do not put in place the necessary emergency response. We either stop a bullet now, or we face an entirely unprecedented situation for which we do not have a plan."