Geneva, 9 Sep - (ANA) - Ebola is spreading exponentially in Liberia, with thousands of new cases expected in the next three weeks, the World Health Organization (WHO) says. Conventional methods to control the outbreak were "not having an adequate impact", the UN's health agency added. At least 2,100 people infected with Ebola have died so far in the West African states of Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria this year. The WHO says 79 health workers have been killed by the virus. Organisations combating the outbreak needed to scale-up efforts "three-to-four fold", the WHO said. It highlighted Liberia's Montserrado county, where 1,000 beds were needed for infected Ebola patients but only 240 were available, leading to people being turned away from treatment centres. Transmission of the virus in Liberia was "already intense", and taxis being used to transport infected patients appeared to be "a hot source of potential virus transmission", the WHO said.

Ebola casualties

Up to 5 September

2,105

Ebola deaths - probable, confirmed and suspected

1,089 Liberia

517 Guinea

491 Sierra Leone

8 Nigeria

Also on Monday, the African Union urged its member states to lift travel bans imposed to contain the virus, saying that the bans could hurt the region's economy. "We must be careful not to introduce measures that may have more... social and economic impact than the disease itself," commission chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said in quotes carried by AFP news agency. The current outbreak has mortality rate of about 55%. Liberia has the highest number of reported cases and deaths, with more than 1,000 casualties so far. Hundreds have also died of the virus in Guinea and Sierra Leone. There have been at least eight deaths in Nigeria. One case has also been confirmed in Senegal but there have been no deaths so far. (ANA)

FA/ANA/9 September 2014-------