How to get the Ebola epidemic under control

The World Health Organization (WHO) team investigating the situation in Liberia says "the number of new cases is increasing exponentially," according to an assessment report.

As many as 14 out of 15 counties in Liberia have reported confirmed cases Ebola. "Of all Ebola-affected countries, Liberia has the highest cumulative number of reported cases and deaths," the report states.

In Liberia, nearly 2,000 people have fallen ill to the virus, and more than 1,000 have so far died. 58 percent of all infected people die, a case-fatality rate that is among the highest in West Africa, the WHO says.

Maximilian Gertler, a researcher of infectious diseases at the Robert Koch Institute and a director at Doctors without Border, agrees the situation is disastrous. In a German morning television show, he called the epidemic a "conflagration", adding that "we will see many more cases."

The total number of deaths due to this Ebola outbreak has reached about 2,100 now. "Considering the number of cases, this outbreak is ten times as big as the biggest Ebola outbreaks we have ever encountered," Gertler said.

Help from abroad

The US has announced it will send military support to West Africa, using soldiers to help set up isolation units. Security for public health workers will also be provided.

As a result of the devastating conditions in the Ebola-hit countries, riots are breaking out, and isolation centers are overwhelmed by panic-stricken people. The organization Doctors without Borders has been calling for international help for some time now.

Last week, their international president Joanne Liu said: "To curb the epidemic, it is imperative that states immediately deploy civilian and military assets with expertise in biohazard containment." And she added: "Without this deployment, we will never get this epidemic under control."

Maximilian Gertler said he appreciated that Obama is taking action. Just in Liberia's capital Monrovia alone, as many as 1,000 additional beds are needed to treat Ebola infected patients.

But Gertler added that he doesn't think it's necessary to provide health centers with military protection. Setting up isolation facilities is much more important, he says, adding that military force could even be counterproductive.

Virus spreads due to lack of hospitals

According to the WHO's investigation, there are no existing free beds for Ebola treatment anywhere in Liberia.

"In Monrovia, taxis filled with entire families, of whom some members are thought to be infected with the Ebola virus, crisscross the city in search of a treatment bed. There are none."

Stefan Liljegren, coordinator at the Doctors without Borders Ebola center in Monrovia said: "Every day we have to turn sick people away because we're too full."

So, patients return to their homes, where they infect others. And, therefore, the virus continues to spread.

The Ebola virus is not airborne and can only be transmitted via direct contact. This makes it much less contagious than the flu virus. If patients aren't isolated due to a lack of hospitals, though, the virus runs wild.