A World Health Organization official says there could be up to 10,000 new cases of Ebola per week within two months. WHO assistant director-general Dr. Bruce Aylward says if the response to the Ebola crisis isn't stepped up within 60 days, "a lot more people will die" and there will be a huge need on the ground to deal with the spiraling numbers of cases.
Aylward said for the last four weeks, there have been about 1,000 new cases per week, though that figure includes suspected, confirmed and probable cases. WHO increased its Ebola death toll tally to 4,447, nearly all of them in West Africa, and the group said the number of probable and suspected cases was 8,914.
WHO is aiming to have 70 percent of cases isolated within two months to reverse the outbreak, which has hit Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia hardest. Aylward said that the death rate in the current Ebola outbreak has increased to 70 percent.
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-The Associated Press
