VIENNA – The huge scope of the West African Ebola outbreak makes bringing it under control an unprecedented challenge with an uncertain outcome, Dr. Hilde de Clerck said in an interview during the International Meeting on Emerging Diseases and Surveillance.
The large number of people who have been infected with Ebola in the West African countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia – close to 14,000 identified cases by the end of October – has forced clinicians on the scene, such as those working with Médicins Sans Frontières (MSF; Doctors Without Borders), to try new approaches in their attempt to rein in further spread of the infection, said Dr. de Clerk, an epidemiologist and family physician who serves as a field coordinator for MSF specializing in viral hemorrhagic fevers. Right now, it is hard to predict when the outbreak will be brought under control, she said. To watch an interview in which she discusses containment strategies, click here.
Dr. de Cleck had no disclosures.
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