From [HERE] Ebola is spreading at a "terrifying rate," with five people infected with the deadly virus every hour in Sierra Leone alone, according to data published Thursday by human rights organization Save the Children. [images of ebola [HERE] viewer discretion is advised.]
The London-based group estimates the rate of infected persons in the West African country will increase to 10 every hour if nothing is done to curb Ebola’s spread.
"The scale of the Ebola epidemic is devastating and growing every day, with five people infected every hour in Sierra Leone last week," Justin Forsyth, chief executive of Save the Children, said in a statement. "We need a coordinated international response that ensures treatment centers are built and staffed immediately."
The organization’s infection-rate figures are based on both confirmed cases and an estimate of how many cases are not being reported.
Save the Children’s urgent plea for a more concerted effort to tackle the virus came as Britain hosted an international conference titled "Defeating Ebola: Sierra Leone" in London on Thursday where officials announced plans to build up to 1,000 makeshift clinics in the African nation.
The new clinics will offer little, if any, treatment, but they will get sick people out of their homes, away from their families and hopefully slow the infection rate. Only a fraction of Ebola patients in Sierra Leone are now in treatment centers.
"If we don't do anything, we'll just be watching people die," said Dr. Margaret Harris, spokeswoman for the World Health Organization.
While Ebola continues to ravage West Africa, Sierra Leone is one of the hardest-hit countries. The virus has killed more than 3,300 people and infected at least twice as many in West Africa.
Experts say the virus will continue to spread rapidly unless authorities can reach and isolate at least 70 percent of infected persons. Dozens of Ebola treatment centers have been promised, but they could take weeks or even months to be constructed. [MORE]