US says it may deploy nearly 4,000 troops for Ebola response

The Pentagon said on Friday the total number of US forces that could be deployed to West Africa as part of America's response to the Ebola crisis could reach nearly 4,000, a figure well above estimates of about 3,000 previously given.

"We project that there could be nearly 4,000 troops deployed in support of this mission but we are obviously assessing the requirements on a daily basis," said Rear Admiral John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary.

"It may not go that high."

By far the most deadly epidemic of Ebola on record has spread into five west African countries since the start of the year, infecting more than 7,000 people and killing about half of them.

The virus, spread through infected bodily fluids, can only be transmitted when a patient is experiencing the symptoms — severe fever, vomiting, diarrhoea and, in some cases, massive internal haemorrhaging and external bleeding.

Anthony Banbury, head of the UN Mission on Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER), travelled to Sierra Leone on Friday for the second leg of a tour of the three hardest-hit nations.

"The only way we will end this crisis is if we end every single last case of Ebola so there is no more risk of transmission to anyone, and when that's accomplished, UNMEER will go home," he told journalists on Thursday in the Liberian capital Freetown.

The UN envoy said he was intent on contributing to "the highest priority for the international community — for the whole world, not just the United Nations."

The World Health Organization said in its latest situation update there was still a "significant shortfall" in capacity in west Africa, with 1,500 more beds needed in Liberia and 450 in Sierra Leone.

Watch the White House briefing on Ebola on NBC News: