A fugitive is on the run with Ebola virus

this_permalink = “http://voxxi.com/category/impremedia/”; this_site = “http://voxxi.com”;View gallery

The number of deaths from and Ebola outbreak in West Africa has reached 660, indicates the World Health Organization, with the total number of cases surpassing 1,000.

Though the epidemic has been the largest Ebola outbreak in the area’s history, medical professionals have been working diligently to keep it as contained as possible.

SEE ALSO: Leading doctor fighting Ebola virus catches illness himself

Now, however, reports have surfaced that a woman who tested positive for the virus was forcibly removed from a treatment clinic by her family. The woman is now thought to be on the run in Sierra Leone, and officials have put out community broadcasts beseeching  those in the country for help. Until the woman receives treatment she is able to spread the virus to others.

“Saudatu Koroma of 25 Old Railway Line, Brima Lane, Wellington,” said the radio announcement regarding the missing patient. “She is a positive case and her being out there is a risk to all. We need the public to help us locate her.”

Though the woman is considered the first fugitive with Ebola, the World Health Organization as well as local ministry and official reports confirm that since the appearance of Ebola in February, dozens of people have tested positive and since been unaccounted for in Sierra Leone.

“We’re seeing many of these facilities simply don’t have enough people to provide the constant level of care needed,” WHO spokesman Paul Garwood told a news briefing in Geneva on Friday.

Ebola appears to be spreading

Though some of the world’s top scientists and medical professionals are working toward quelling the Ebola outbreak, it appears there is much more that needs to be done.

A report from Reuters indicates a case of Ebola is under suspicion in Nigeria’s commercial capital Lagos. Thus far Nigeria has remained unaffected by the epidemic, and if the case is confirmed, this will be the first Ebola case on record in Nigeria.

With 170 million people, Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, and could face devastating results if Ebola has really arrived in the nation.

Some experts feel, however, that Ebola is more easily contained in a dense population.

“The fear of spread within a dense population would be offset by better healthcare and a willingness to use it, easier contact tracing and, I assume for an urban population, less risky funerary and family rites,” Ian Jones, a professor of virology at the University of Reading in Britain, said to Reuters. “It would be contained more easily than in rural populations.”

It’s yet unknown if Nigeria can officially be added to the list of countries affected by the Ebola outbreak, including Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

SEE ALSO: Dr. Khan, leading Ebola doctor catches virus himself