According the the World Health Organization, last month's projected estimate of 20,000 cases of the outbreak before the virus is brought under control is already outdated.
According to the estimates of U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Ebola outbreak in West Africa can spread to thousands of people by the end of January next year and estimates a worst case scenario at 550,000 infections.
The projection by the CDC is still preliminary and can change. CDC is already working on a model that can allow the recalculations of the estimated case of Ebola over time but is yet to be released. The spread of the virus seemed exponential but the extent is still unknown.
From last month's case, the numbers have already doubled. WHO spokesperson said that they do not know how big this epidemic could become.
The World Health Organization estimates and assessment are the basis of international and financial relief that they will need to help fight the epidemic. It will help see how many treatment facilities will be needed, medicines, hospital beds, and the likes.
Since the virus started this year, the Ebola virus have already infected over 5,000 people and left half of that number deceased. The virus is now widespread in five West African countries.
The United Nations announced the creation of an emergency mission yesterday stating that there should be greater efforts to battle this epidemic. The United States government has responded by sending 3,000 troops to help with shipping and distribution of medicines and provide treatment facilities. Last September 17, U.S. Army-Africa Commander Major General Darryl Williams arrived in Monrovia with his team of twelve people to assess the situation and see what Amerca can do to help.
The White House has pledged $1 billion to help and hopes that it would also ignite other countries' response.
