The top UN envoy in Liberia says at least 160 health workers have contracted Ebola and 80 have died in the epidemic.
Karin Landgren called the outbreak a "latter-day plague" that is growing exponentially. She told told the UN Security Council today that most health workers have gone for long stretches without proper protective equipment, training or pay.
She said "local funeral rites that involve touching and washing of the dead have led to countless new deaths, and will need to be replaced with safer rituals, requiring the commitment of religious and traditional leaders."
Liberia's Defense Minister Brownie Samukai told the council that "Liberia is facing a serious threat to its national existence."
He said "continued denial, traditional practices, religious rituals, fear, and community resistance still constitute obstacles to progress.
