The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said an Ebola outbreak in West Africa is spreading out of control. <br /><br />The death toll has risen to more than 600 since February.<br /><br />“It is very difficult for us to get into communities where there is hostility to outsiders,” explained WHO spokesman Dan Epstein.<br /><br />“We still face rumours, and suspicion and hostility. ...People are isolated, they’re afraid, they’re scared,” he told a news briefing in Geneva.<br /><br />“It’s probably going to be several months before we are able to get a grip on this epidemic and this outbreak and reduce the numbers of cases, so there will be ups and downs, that’s a normal part of this outbreak,” added Epstein.<br /><br />Sierra Leone recorded the highest number of deaths followed by Liberia and Guinea.<br /><br />Experts believe patients are being hidden. Friends and relatives believe hospitalisation is a death sentence.<br /><br />In Liberia, health workers have been chased away by armed gangs.
