Accra: An Ebola epidemic in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone is out of control and requires massive resources from governments and aid agencies to prevent it spreading further, medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres said.

In its latest report on the crisis, the UN World Health Organisation said the regional death toll had reached 350 since February. The crisis is already the deadliest outbreak since Ebola first emerged in central Africa in 1976.

A Senegalese hygienist demonstrates how to protect oneself against the Ebola virus at Dakar airport. Credit:AFP

The disease has not previously occurred in the West Africa region and local people remain frightened of it and view health facilities with suspicion. This makes it harder to bring it under control, MSF said in a statement on Monday.

At the same time, MSF said, a lack of understanding has meant people continue to prepare corpses and attend funerals of Ebola victims, leaving them vulnerable to a disease transmitted by touching victims or through bodily fluids.