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The Ebola epidemic is set to explode unless the response is radically intensified, the WHO said today, warning that hundreds of thousands could be infected by the end of the year. The UN agency said in a report that new cases would surge from hundreds each week to thousands without 'drastic improvements in control measures', with the number of infections set to more than triple to 20,000 by November.
'We've rather modestly only extended the projections to November 2, but if you go to... January 2, you're into hundreds of thousands,' said Christopher Dye, the head of strategy at the World Health Organization and a co-author of the study. The research paper warns that the outbreak could drag out for years and become entrenched in west Africa, which has already seen almost 3,000 deaths.
The epidemic might simply 'rumble on as it has for the last few months for the next few years,' Dye said, adding that 'the fear is that Ebola will become more or less a permanent feature of the human population'. Liberia, the hardest-hit nation, has seen 3,000 cases of Ebola and almost 1,600 deaths, with health workers turning people away from treatment units due to chronic shortages of beds and staff.
The country has some 150 foreign specialised medical workers on the ground but the UN has said they need at least 600, and health authorities are aiming to scale its current 400 Ebola beds up to around 2,000 within weeks. Its response has been bolstered by a US military mission, already being deployed, which will see 3,000 troops providing training and logistics. But Antonio Vigilante, UN deputy special representative for recovery and governance in Liberia, likened the struggle to 'trying to remedy an earthquake when it is happening'. Liberia said today the slow international response risked allowing the country to slide back into civil war alongside neighbouring Sierra Leone, and could reignite civil unrest in Guinea.
'The world cannot wait for Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea to slip back into conflict, which could be the result of this slowness in response,' Information Minister Lewis Brown told AFP late yesterday. Sierra Leone, where more than 1,800 have been infected and nearly 600 have died, reported 'an overflow of bodies' after a nationwide curfew helped uncover more than 200 new cases.
Here are some symptoms of Ebola Virus
Early symptoms of Ebola
Fever: Increase in body temperature is the first defence mechanism that the body uses to kill any foreign particle invading the body. When Ebola infects the body, it causes a release of various compounds like cytokines and histamines that pass on the signals of increasing body temperature. In fact, Ebola virus disease is also called the Ebola haemorrhagic fever, where the temperature can go above 38.6 C or 101.5 F.
Headache: It is the most common symptom of Ebola infection after fever, present in almost 96 percent of the cases. Nausea and headache along with fever present a typical case of common cold and flu. At this stage, the symptoms can be confused with other common infections.
Late symptoms of Ebola
Sore throat: This symptom may take some time to develop and may not occur in all people infected with the virus. It starts with a scratchy, dry or itchy feeling in the throat and can even end with lesions in the throat filled with the virus.
Jaundice: When the virus attacks the liver cells, it causes leakage of cell contents into the blood stream. Increased level of liver proteins in the blood may cause yellowing of skin and eyes or jaundice in few cases.
Loss of appetite: Increased body temperature, weakness and attack on the intestinal endothelial cells all contribute to anorexia and loss of appetite as the virus multiplies rapidly inside the body. Read more about Ebola virus signs and symptoms you need to watch out for!
With inputs from PTI
Photo source: Getty images
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