Jul 29, 2014

Across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, at least 672 people have died from the worst outbreak yet of the hemorrhagic fever, the World Health Organization said, placing great strain on the health systems of some of Africa’s poorest countries. Sierra Leone now has the highest number of Ebola cases, surpassing neighboring Guinea where the outbreak originated in February. Highly contagious, especially in the late stages, its symptoms include vomiting and diarrhea as well as internal and external bleeding.

: Medical staff put on protective gear in Kenema government hospital before taking a sample from a suspected Ebola patient in Kenema, July 10, 2014. (REUTERS/Tommy Trenchard)

: A scientist separates blood cells from plasma cells to isolate any Ebola RNA in order to test for the virus at the European Mobile Laboratory in Gueckedou on April 3, 2014. Hiccups, say doctors in this remote corner of Guinea, are the final tell-tale sign of infection by the Ebola virus that has killed more than 100 people since an outbreak began this year. Then come profuse bleeding, circulatory shock and death. In total, 98 people are thought to have died from the disease in Guinea and 10 more in neighboring Liberia, according to aid workers and governments. A market town of 220,000 people near the Liberia and Sierra Leone borders, Gueckedou’s makeshift clinic is on the front line of Guinea’s battle to contain its first outbreak of the haemorrhagic fever, normally found in Central Africa. (REUTERS/Misha Hussain)

: A woman dries bushmeat near a road of the Yamoussoukro highway on March 29, 2014. Bushmeat – from bats to antelopes, squirrels, porcupines and monkeys – has long held pride of place on family menus in West and Central Africa, whether stewed, smoked or roasted. Experts who have studied the Ebola virus from its discovery in 1976 in Democratic Republic of Congo, then Zaire, say its suspected origin – what they call the reservoir host – is forest bats. Links have also been made to the carcasses of freshly slaughtered animals consumed as bushmeat. (REUTERS/Thierry Gouegnon)

: Dried bushmeat is displayed near a road of the Yamoussoukro highway March 29, 2014. Bushmeat – from bats to antelopes, squirrels, porcupines and monkeys – has long held pride of place on family menus in West and Central Africa, whether stewed, smoked or roasted. Experts who have studied the Ebola virus from its discovery in 1976 in Democratic Republic of Congo, then Zaire, say its suspected origin – what they call the reservoir host – is forest bats. Links have also been made to the carcasses of freshly slaughtered animals consumed as bushmeat. (REUTERS/Thierry Gouegnon)

: A woman walks past dried bushmeat near a road of the Yamoussoukro highway on March 29, 2014. Bushmeat – from bats to antelopes, squirrels, porcupines and monkeys – has long held pride of place on family menus in West and Central Africa, whether stewed, smoked or roasted. Experts who have studied the Ebola virus from its discovery in 1976 in Democratic Republic of Congo, then Zaire, say its suspected origin – what they call the reservoir host – is forest bats. Links have also been made to the carcasses of freshly slaughtered animals consumed as bushmeat. (REUTERS/Thierry Gouegnon)

: People walk in front of the entrance of the Donka Hospital, where victims of the ebola disease are being treated, in Conakry March 28, 2014. (REUTERS/Saliou Samb)

: A view of the isolation block of a hospital where Ebola victims are being treated in Macenta, Guinea, March 27, 2014. (REUTERS/Stringer)

: Workers from Doctors Without Borders unload emergency medical supplies to deal with an Ebola outbreak in Conakry, Guinea, March 23, 2014. (REUTERS/Saliou Samb)

: Workers from Doctors Without Borders unload emergency medical supplies to deal with an Ebola outbreak in Conakry, Guinea, March 23, 2014. (REUTERS/Saliou Samb)

: Workers from Doctors Without Borders unload emergency medical supplies to deal with an Ebola outbreak in Conakry, Guinea, March 23, 2014. (REUTERS/Saliou Samb)

: A health worker with disinfectant spray walks down a street outside the government hospital in Kenema, July 10, 2014. (REUTERS/Tommy Trenchard)

: Medical staff take a blood sample from a suspected Ebola patient at the government hospital in Kenema, July 10, 2014. (REUTERS/Tommy Trenchard)

: Rose Komono poses for a picture at a health clinic after overcoming the Ebola virus in Gueckedou. On Saturday, Komono became the first victim to have beaten the disease in the region of Gueckedou, which has borne the brunt of the deaths in the impoverished West African nation. A market town of 220,000 people near the Liberia and Sierra Leone borders, Gueckedou’s makeshift clinic is on the front line of Guinea’s battle to contain its first outbreak of the haemorrhagic fever, normally found in Central Africa. (REUTERS/Misha Hussain)

: Medical staff working with Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) put on their protective gear before entering an isolation area at the MSF Ebola treatment centre in Kailahun on July 20, 2014. (REUTERS/Tommy Trenchard)

: Medical staff working with Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) prepare to bring food to patients kept in an isolation area at the MSF Ebola treatment centre in Kailahun on July 20, 2014. (REUTERS/Tommy Trenchard)

: A health worker removes his protective suit as he emerges from an isolation area at the Medecins sans Frontieres Ebola treatment centre in Kailahun on July 20, 2014. Sierra Leone now has the highest number of Ebola cases, at 454, surpassing neighboring Guinea where the outbreak originated in February. (REUTERS/Tommy Trenchard)

: Sheik Umar Khan, head doctor fighting the deadly tropical virus Ebola in Sierra Leone, poses for a picture in Freetown, June 25, 2014. Khan, a Sierra Leonean virologist credited with treating more than 100 Ebola victims, has been transferred to a treatment ward run by medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres after being infected by the Ebola virus, according to the statement released late on July 22, 2014 by the president’s office. (REUTERS/Umaru Fofana)

: Health workers take blood samples for Ebola virus testing at a screening tent in the local government hospital in Kenema, Sierra Leone, June 30, 2014. (REUTERS/Tommy Trenchard)

: Health workers take blood samples for Ebola virus testing at a screening tent in the local government hospital in Kenema, Sierra Leone, June 30, 2014. (REUTERS/Tommy Trenchard)

: Government health workers are seen during the administration of blood tests for the Ebola virus in Kenema, Sierra Leone, June 25, 2014. (REUTERS/Umaru Fofana)

: Government health workers administer blood tests to check for the Ebola virus in Kenema, Sierra Leone, June 25, 2014. (REUTERS/Umaru Fofana)

: Health workers carry the body of an Ebola virus victim in Kenema, Sierra Leone, June 25, 2014. (REUTERS/Umaru Fofana)

: Health workers carry the body of an Ebola virus victim in Kenema, Sierra Leone, on June 25, 2014. The Ebola outbreak has killed 467 people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone since February, making it the largest and deadliest ever, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). (REUTERS/Umaru Fofana)

Ebola outbreak hits West Africa

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