New estimates from the World Health Organization say the number of Ebola cases could hit 21,000 in six weeks unless proper procedures are carried out and more aid is given by the international community, according to Reuters.
The number of Ebola cases in West Africa has reached an estimated 5,800, adding that Ebola could sicken people for years to come without better control measures, Reuters reported.
Health officials worldwide have recently stepped up efforts to provide aid, but the virus is still spreading because there aren't enough hospital beds, health workers or even soap and water in the hardest-hit West African countries: Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, according to Reuters.
The new analysis was published online Tuesday by the New England Journal of Medicine, six months after the first infections were reported on March 23, Reuters reported.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to release its own predictions for only Liberia and Sierra Leone, the two West African countries that recently have shown the steadiest and most alarming spread of cases, according to Reuters.
Other outside experts questioned WHO's projections and said Ebola's spread would ultimately be slowed not only by containment measures but by changes in people's behavior, Reuters reported.
"It's a big assumption that nothing will change in the current outbreak response," said Dr. Armand Sprecher, an infectious diseases specialist at Doctors Without Borders, according to Reuters.
"Ebola outbreaks usually end when people stop touching the sick," Sprecher said, Reuters reported. "The outbreak is not going to end tomorrow but there are things we can do to reduce the case count."
Health officials in affected regions have launched campaigns to educate people about the symptoms of Ebola and not to touch the sick or the dead, according to Reuters.
