The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said an Ebola outbreak in West Africa is spreading out of control.
The death toll has risen to more than 600 since February.
“It is very difficult for us to get into communities where there is hostility to outsiders,” explained WHO spokesman Dan Epstein.
“We still face rumours, and suspicion and hostility. ...People are isolated, they’re afraid, they’re scared,” he told a news briefing in Geneva.
“It’s probably going to be several months before we are able to get a grip on this epidemic and this outbreak and reduce the numbers of cases, so there will be ups and downs, that’s a normal part of this outbreak,” added Epstein.
Sierra Leone recorded the highest number of deaths followed by Liberia and Guinea.
Experts believe patients are being hidden. Friends and relatives believe hospitalisation is a death sentence.
In Liberia, health workers have been chased away by armed gangs.
