A handout photograph made available by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shows U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers as they conduct enhanced screening at JFK International Airport in New York City. Health screenings to help prevent the spread of Ebola began Saturday for some travelers to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. UPI/Donna Burton/CBP | License Photo

GENEVA, Switzerland, Oct. 14 (UPI) -- As the Ebola virus continues to ravage West Africa, the World Health Organization fears the rate of infection will jump to 5,000 to 10,000 new patients per week as soon as December.

The deadly virus is currently spreading through Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia and has killed nearly 4,500 people since the outbreak began in late 2013.


"Any sense that the great effort that's been kicked off over the last couple of months is already starting to see an impact, that would be really, really premature," Bruce Aylward, the WHO's assistant director general in charge of the agency's Ebola response, said at a press briefing according to Bloomberg.

"The virus is still moving geographically and still escalating in capitals, and that's what concerns me."

Thus far, more than 8,900 people have been infected with Ebola and the death rate has risen from 50 to 70 percent.

The WHO again warned the outbreak could become worse and near impossible to control if the international community does not commit more resources to a response.