West Africa Ebola outbreak worst ever, says WHO
The Ebola epidemic in West Africa is officially the worst the world has seen as the death toll breaches 600, says the World Health Organisation The death toll from the world’s worst ever Ebola outbreak in West Africa has risen to 603 since February, with at least 68 deaths reported from three countries in the region in the past week alone, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Tuesday. The WHO said there were 85 new cases between July 8 and 12, highlighting continued high levels of transmission of the virus. International and local medics were struggling to gain access to communities as many people feared outsiders were spreading rather than fighting Ebola. “It’s very difficult for us to get into communities where there is hostility to outsiders,” WHO spokesperson Dan Epstein told a news briefing in Geneva. “We still face rumours, and suspicion and hostility ... People are isolated, they’re afraid, they’re scared.” Sierra Leone recorded the highest number of deaths i...