Can the Ebola outbreak be stopped?

Picture from previous Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone. Getty/harry1978

By Emma Wilkinson

As concern grows that the Ebola outbreak could end up being the largest ever, Doctors.net.uk looks at why it is proving so hard to control, the impact on healthcare staff and what vaccines are being developed.

What are the latest figures on the outbreak?

It is thought there are now more than 1,000 suspected Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and at least 246 deaths. Uganda has reported nine confirmed cases and one death.

The outbreak is already the third largest ever recorded with officials worried the virus could have been spreading unchecked for quite some time before the alarm was raised last month.

Local medics believe the first case may date back as far as January, the Telegraph has reported.

If the outbreak was confirmed to have started months ago, thousands more people would have been exposed than initially accounted for, and the actual figures may be far higher, aid workers have warned.