Ebola Outbreak 2014: News & Updates, Rising Death Toll, US to Send Troops

As the Ebola virus outbreak continues to spread across West Africa, the world is still unsure exactly how or when they will be able to curb and hopefully finally stop the outbreak altogether. The U.S. has also pledged it will send aid workers along with thousand of soldiers to help facilitate the aid workers work.

Death Toll

Fox News reports via the WHO that 2,630 people have already died from this current Ebola outbreak, making it the worst in histroy. A total of 5,357 people have been reportedly infected based on a Thursday announcemend by the WHO. 

The virus is affecting Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia as well as Nigeria and Senegal. According to the WHO, the virus continues to spread, and there is no indication that transmission of the virus will slow any time soon. The countries his hardest by the outbreak currently are: Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Of the over 5,000 cases of Ebola reported, those three countries possess most of the victims.

According to Fox, another "separate" outbreak of Ebola is currently spreading in the Democratic Republic of Congo. 40 deaths have been reported there due to the virus as of Sept. 15.

U.S. 'Aid'

This week, President Bacack Obama pledged that the U.S. would send 3,000 troops along with additional aid workers to attempt to curb the spread of the virus; though, many are questioning why the troops are necessary at all. Vox noted that the President seemed to speak of the outbreak in military terms as through the virus represented a sentient threat to U.S. interests or national security. The president actually used the term "security threat" when describing the situation to the press this week, which many have found to be odd terminology for a health epidemic.

Furthermore, Obama seemed to repeatedly focus on the threat Ebola posed to the security and economic stability of Africa and beyond. Perhaps this is just the president being pragmatic in his approach to the problem, but with the rising death toll, it could be perceived as insensitive if not uncaring.