The World Health Organization is estimating that the number of people who are being infected with the Ebola virus in West Africa could potentially double every three weeks with the present scale of infection. This outbreak is unparalleled by any in the history of the Ebola virus, with Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea being the hardest hit countries in the region. The United Nations has also amended earlier computations and is now saying that it would take nearly $1 billion, at this point, to contain the highly lethal virus that has now reportedly killed over 2,400 people across several countries in this part of the world.
United States Pres. Barack Obama has already announced previously that he is sending 3,000 American troops to provide much-needed support amid the crisis. According to the United States Defense Department, they are planning on constructing treatment centers that could increase the amount of patients that can be accommodated, and treated, to augment the now-fragile health care systems in Liberia. The Obama administration has already committed over $100 million to the fight against Ebola and the President is reportedly planning to call on Congress to approve $88 million more as part of a bill that will fund the federal government. Just last week, the USAID said that it is allocating $75 million for the construction of treatment facilities for Ebola patients, while the Pentagon is working to transfer $500 million of their unassigned funds towards the fight against Ebola. With these coordinated efforts, the United States hopes to encourage other countries to intensify their own endeavors to help with the crisis.
The steps being taken by the United States government now is considerably more extensive than any of their previous responses to health emergencies anywhere in the world. This is due mainly to the fact that the current outbreak is being considered as a "national security problem" where the affected countries are threatened with instability and the virus' potential to mutate into a more virulent form that could spread outside of West Africa remains a possibility.