Report: Ebola Spreading In Sierra Leone 9X Faster than In September

by Jordan Schachtel

Nov 3, 2014 8:32 PM PT

A recent report by the Africa Governance Initiative (AGI) has revealed that Ebola virus infections in Sierra Leone are spreading up to nine times faster than just two months ago.

In areas surrounding the capital city of Freetown, an average of twelve cases a day were seen in October, compared to the 1.3 average recorded in September.

"While new cases appear to have slowed in Liberia, Ebola is continuing to spread frightenly quickly in parts of Sierra Leone," the report warned.

The Africa Governance Initiative was created by former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has said that the Ebola situation in West Africa should be considered a “full-blown crisis.” AGI chief executive Nick Thompson added, "The government of Sierra Leone is making real strides in tackling transmission by speeding up access to treatment and safe and dignified burial.” Thompson continued, “But we can’t rest until Ebola has nowhere to hide. And we can see from growth in new cases in some rural parts of Sierra Leone that we still have no time to lose if we’re going to get on top of this.”

On Monday, a fifth local doctor in Sierra Leone died from symptoms of Ebola, officials stated. The country has at its disposal only two doctors for every 100,000 citizens, according to 2010 numbers published by the World Health Organization (WHO). Additionally, WHO reported that 523 health care workers have been infected with Ebola in West Africa.

Sierra Leone has seen 1,510 confirmed deaths due to the deadly virus, according to statistics released by WHO on October 29th.

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