Geneva: The Ebola crisis in west Africa is outstripping the ability of aid organisations to stem the epidemic, the head of international medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said Friday, likening it to a war.

"It is deteriorating faster, and moving faster, than we can respond to," Joanne Liu told reporters a day after returning from a 10-day mission to the hard-hit region.

A Sierra Leone government burial team disinfects a coffin at the Medecins Sans Frontieres facility in Kailahun. Credit:AFP

"It is like war time. There is fear," she said.

"It's moving, and advancing, but we have no clue how it's going. Like in a war time, we have a total collapse of infrastructure," she added.