The United Nations' Ebola response chief has warned that the longer the epidemic continues, the higher the risk the virus could mutate and become airborne. Anthony Banbury, the Secretary General's Special Representative, described the prospect as a 'nightmare scenario' that, while unlikely, cannot be ruled out.
His comments come as organisations battling the crisis in West Africa warned the international community has just four weeks to stop its spread before it spirals 'completely out of control'. The number of new infections is growing exponentially, with officials saying new cases are doubling every few weeks. More than 3,300 people have died in the current outbreak.
Speaking at the Defeating Ebola conference in London, British nurse Will Pooley, who survived the disease, pleaded with governments to prevent children from dying. He described caring for a brother and sister, aged four and two, in Sierra Leone, who both died in squalid conditions. 'My specific fear is the horror and the misery of these deaths,' he said. 'At all costs we can't let that happen.'
Mr Banbury admitted the international community had been late to respond to what he called the worst disaster he had ever witnessed. 'In a career working in wars, natural disasters, I have never seen anything as serious or dangerous or high risk as this one,' he said.
The first case of Ebola on US soil was diagnosed this week after Thomas Eric Duncan flew from Liberia to Dallas, Texas. He is being treated at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital and is said to be in a serious but stable condition. He is reportedly not receiving the experimental serum ZMapp due to depleted stocks.
