WHO and partners launch Ebola response plan.

Public health offi cials are warning the spread of Ebola in west Africa is outpacing eff orts to contain the outbreak. The virus, now present in three capital cities, has killed at least 887 people so far. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has described the 6-month outbreak as “out of control” as a steadily increasing number of patients enter hospitals and overstretched health workers search remote areas for people who refuse to seek help. In response, the international community launched a US$100 million plan on Aug 1 to scale up eff orts to stem the out break—the largest in history. It calls for the deployment of hundreds of additional doctors, nurses, and social mobilisers. At the same time, west African leaders have intensifi ed their own eff orts to control the outbreak by closing borders and quarantining some of the worst-aff ected areas. “If the situation continues to deteriorate, the consequences can be catastrophic in terms of lost lives but also severe socioeconomic disruption and a high risk of spread to other countries”, said WHO Director-General Margaret Chan, who introduced the international strategy at a meeting in Guinea’s capital, Conakry. Ebola fi rst appeared in March in a trading centre near Guinea’s border with Liberia and Sierra Leone, and soon spread across the porous borders. As of Aug 4, nearly 1600 cases have been reported in the three countries. MSF said in a statement that, despite a recent resurgence of cases in Guinea, the outbreak’s epicentre has shifted to Liberia and Sierra Leone. The situation in Liberia is particularly dire, the humanitarian group warned, with “almost no capacity on the ground to respond”. In July, Ebola entered Africa’s largest city. A Liberian-American man collapsed after landing in Lagos, Nigeria, and was quickly isolated. He died a few days later, raising alarm not just that the outbreak had entered Africa’s mostpopulous country, but that through air travel it could easily spread to other places in the world. Both Liberia and Nigeria are now screening arrivals at their airports and seaports and Liberia has closed all but three of its land borders. As of Aug 4, Nigeria had reported three new probable or suspect cases. No additional cases have been reported outside Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea.