'Ebola winning the race,' says UN official Anthony Banbury

15 October 2014 Last updated at 09:30Share this page

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'Ebola winning the race,' says UN official Anthony Banbury

The World Health Organization says the number of cases - including deaths - could top 9,000 this week

Continue reading the main story Ebola outbreak

How not to catch Ebola

Living with Ebola

Why so dangerous?

Mapping the outbreak

The UN's Ebola mission chief says the world is falling behind in the race to contain the virus, with thousands of new cases predicted by December.

"It is running faster than us, and it is winning the race," Anthony Banbury told the UN Security Council.

Meanwhile, more questions are being asked in the US about how a nurse in Texas became infected with the virus.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says 4,447 people have died from the outbreak, mainly in West Africa.

Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea have been hardest hit by the outbreak, which began in December 2013 but was confirmed in March.

'Unprecedented situation'US President Barack Obama said on Tuesday that "the world as a whole is not doing enough" to contain the Ebola threat.

He will discuss the Ebola crisis in a video conference on Wednesday with British, French, German and Italian leaders, the White House says.

Mr Banbury issued a stern warning on Tuesday - telling the UN Security Council by video-link from West Africa that if Ebola was not stopped now, the world would "face an entirely unprecedented situation for which we do not have a plan".

Anthony Banbury addressed Security Council members via video link from Accra, Ghana

"If we do not get ahead of the crisis, if we do not reach our targets and the number of people with Ebola rises dramatically as some have predicted, the plan we have is not scalable to the size of such a new crisis," he said.

He called for more money to build treatment centres and more medical personnel to staff them.

It follows the WHO's latest projections suggesting the infection rate could reach 5,000 to 10,000 new cases a week within two months if global efforts to combat the spread of infection were not stepped up.

There have been 8,914 cases overall, including the fatal cases, and the WHO says it expects this number to top 9,000 by the end of the week.

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The progress towards an Ebola vaccine - in 80 seconds

The WHO estimates its figures by taking the numbers of confirmed cases and multiplying them - from Guinea by 1.5, from Sierra Leone by 2 and from Liberia by 2.5 - to account for under-reporting.

WHO assistant director-general Bruce Aylward said on Tuesday that the rate of infections appeared to be slowing in the "historic epicentre" of the outbreak, but warned that it was too early to read this as success.

'No protocols'Separately, nurses at a hospital in Texas where a colleague contracted the virus from a Liberian patient who died of Ebola say they worked for days without adequate protective clothing and received little guidance on how to prevent the spread of the virus.

It comes after the head of the US Centers for Disease Control, Thomas Frieden, said there had been a breach of protocol by health workers that led to the nurse becoming infected.

"The CDC is saying that protocols were breached, but the nurses are saying there were no protocols," the head of the national nurses union, Roseann DeMoro, told reporters.

Ebola patients treated outside West Africa*

*In all cases but two, first in Madrid and later in Dallas, the patient was infected with Ebola while in West Africa.

How not to catch Ebola:

Avoid direct contact with sick patients as the virus is spread through contaminated body fluids

Wear goggles to protect eyes

Clothing and clinical waste should be incinerated and any medical equipment that needs to be kept should be decontaminated

People who recover from Ebola should abstain from sex or use condoms for three months

Ebola basics: What you need to know

How Ebola attacks

Ebola: Mapping the outbreak

Mr Frieden later said he regretted not sending a larger team of experts to Texas when the first case of Ebola was diagnosed.

"We could've sent a more robust hospital infection control team and been more hands-on with the hospital from day one about exactly how this should be managed," he said on Tuesday.

Nina Pham, 26, was exposed to Ebola when she treated Liberian Thomas Duncan - the first person diagnosed with the virus on US soil - at a Dallas hospital.

Doctors at the Health Presbyterian hospital said she was in good condition on Tuesday.

Continue reading the main storyINTERACTIVE

Surgical cap Goggles Medical mask Scrubs Overalls Apron Double gloves Boots Respirator

Protective Ebola suit

Surgical cap

The cap forms part of a protective hood covering the head and neck. It offers medical workers an added layer of protection, ensuring that they cannot touch any part of their face whilst in the treatment centre.

Goggles

Goggles, or eye visors, are used to provide cover to the eyes, protecting them from splashes. The goggles are sprayed with an anti-fogging solution before being worn.

Medical mask

Covers the mouth to protect from sprays of blood or body fluids from patients. When wearing a respirator, the medical worker must tear this outer mask to allow the respirator through.

Respirator

A respirator is worn to protect the wearer from a patient's coughs. According to guidelines from the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), the respirator should be put on second, right after donning the overalls.

Medical Scrubs

A surgical scrub suit, durable hospital clothing that absorbs liquid and is easily cleaned, is worn as a baselayer underneath the overalls. It is normally tucked into rubber boots to ensure no skin is exposed.

Overalls

The overalls are placed on top of the scrubs. These suits are similar to hazardous material (hazmat) suits worn in toxic environments. The team member supervising the process should check that the equipment is not damaged.

Double gloves

A minimum two sets of gloves are required, covering the suit cuff. When putting on the gloves, care must be taken to ensure that no skin is exposed and that they are worn in such a way that any fluid on the sleeve will run off the suit and glove. Medical workers must change gloves between patients, performing thorough hand hygiene before donning a new pair. Heavy duty gloves are used whenever workers need to handle infectious waste.

Apron

A waterproof apron is placed on top of the overalls as a final layer of protective clothing.

Boots

Ebola health workers typically wear rubber boots, with the scrubs tucked into the footwear. If boots are unavailable, workers must wear closed, puncture and fluid-resistant shoes.

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