A healthcare worker holds samples of blood that need to be tested for Ebola. REUTERS/Christopher Black/WHO/Handout via Reuters Americans are panicking as the first case of Ebola ever diagnosed on US soil was announced last week.

No one else has been diagnosed in the US, but in the heart of the outbreak in West Africa, tensions continue to mount as Ebola's death toll climbs.

As of Friday, Oct. 3, the virus had claimed nearly 3,500 lives, with thousands more infected, according to the World Health Organization. Health workers are soldiering on in the fight to quell the epidemic, especially in the most severely afflicted areas: Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia.

We've put together a collection of photographs taken from the heart of the Ebola crisis. These images will give you a glimpse into the horror of the disease — and some of the healthcare workers, educators, and volunteers who are fighting to stop it.