World Health Organization officials say the number of Ebola patients could exceed 20,000 in the next six weeks.
Researchers say more work needs to be done to bring the virus under control.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR OF STRATEGY, WHO AND CO-AUTHOR OF THE NEJM ARTICLE, CHRISTOPHER DYE SAYING :
"This is an exponential increase with hundreds, going into thousands of cases per week, and if we don't stop the epidemic very soon, this is going to turn from a disaster into a catastrophe."
These latest predictions were made from information gathered from countries where a third wave of the virus is underway- Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia
Officials say if efforts to control the disease are only partly successful, Ebola could become a permanent feature of life in West Africa.
So far more than 2800 people have died from the disease... more than 5800 people have been infected.