Ebola outbreak: 'Five infected every hour' in Sierra Leone

[cali]

A leading charity has warned that a rate of five new Ebola cases an hour in Sierra Leone means healthcare demands are far outstripping supply.

Save the Children said there were 765 new cases of Ebola reported in the West African state last week, while there are only 327 beds in the country.

<snip>

Save the Children says Ebola is spreading across Sierra Leone at a "terrifying rate", with the number of new cases being recorded doubling every few weeks.

It said that even as health authorities got on top of the outbreak in one area, it spread to another.

The scale of the disease is also "massively unreported" according to the charity, because "untold numbers of children are dying anonymously at home or in the streets".

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http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29453755

[LuvNewcastle]

1. Every country who can should be pouring resources into West Africa right now.

This is a world health crisis in the making, and we should all be pulling out the stops to build hospitals and provide beds and medicine and medical staff into the affected areas. The epidemic has been allowed to continue for far too long as it is, but it can still be contained if we work hard enough to take the necessary steps. It's too bad that stopping diseases doesn't make money. This epidemic would have been over months ago.

[cali]

2. absolutely. Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia need massive help

and ugh. sorry to say but there is money to be made here. Just read an article about it.

[Blue_Roses]

8. well said!

And, so true.

[deutsey]

10. I've been calling for that ever since the first reports of the outbreak

I'm just appalled by the lack of action.

As I said in another post, it seems like everyone's heads are so far up their bottom lines they're not going to do anything until it's too late.

[littlemissmartypants]

3. Great post but we have passed the tipping point.

We will now see an exponentially growing number of cases. I am sick about this.

[cali]

4. that is indeed what is happening

one thing I wish people would stop saying is that ebola is "hard to get". Whether or not that's factual, a hell of a lot of people are now contracting it.

I hope that with massive intervention, this outbreak will be slowed to a manageable point.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

5. you have the perfect storm in those countries

and i am afraid slowing it down won't happen... and that this will only burn itself out when the countries are totally isolated. the religion, culture and economy of the region is the fuel for this fire. the populace will not (or cannot) take the necessary precautions and actions to stop this and no amount of intervention is going to change that. the situation is horrifying, sickening and incredibly sad...

sP

[littlemissmartypants]

6. Yes. Terribly sad. nt

[cali]

7. I'm more hopeful than you are. I think if there really is a massive effort

that the spread of the disease can be slowed down.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

9. i will continue to hope that you're right...

otherwise the disaster will be epic in proportion...

sP