(Transcript from World News Radio)
With the death toll from the Ebola outbreak now well over 1200, fears have risen of an associated famine in the worst-affected African countries.
At the same time, the United Nations is warning the epidemic could also have other far-reaching consequences.
Darren Mara has the details.
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The outbreak of Ebola, which can kill up to 90 percent of those it infects, is ravaging the three small West African countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
It also has a toehold in Nigeria, Africa's biggest economy.
It's been almost two weeks since the World Health Organisation declared the outbreak a "public health emergency of international concern", triggering global alarm as countries stepped up precautions and testing.
The WHO has told affected countries to stop anyone with signs of the virus from departing at airports, seaports and major land border points.
It's argued against further travel restrictions, but several international and regional airlines have cancelled services to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
And although the UN health agency says the situation in Nigeria looks "reassuring", Cameroon has closed its borders with its big neighbour as a precaution.
The senior UN official appointed to co-ordinate responses to the crisis, Dr David Nabarro, says the outbreak is having far-reaching consequences.
"This disease is affecting how societies work, it's affecting social settings, it's affecting economies, it's affecting governance. It's got humanitarian consequences. It's got political repercussions. It may have security impacts. And so, a really comprehensive support operation is necessary that involves all the different assets, tools, capacities in our United Nations system."
Quarantine measures such as military and police roadblocks have stopped farmers from reaching their fields in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, and food output has dropped.
This has raised fears of a famine.
The WHO says it's trying to ensure this doesn't happen, with what it describes as a "massive scaling up" of international assistance.
Spokeswoman Fadela Chaib says food is being delivered to about one-million people in Ebola quarantine zones, through the UN's World Food Program.
"While preventing further transmission of Ebola it is crucial, it is essential that people in these zones have access to food, water, good sanitation and other basic supplies. WHO is working with the United Nations, especially with the WFP (World Food Program) to ensure people in the quarantine zones receive regular food, aid and other non-medical supplies."
Country director of the World Food Program in Sierra Leone, Gon Myers, says there's no doubt that massive food aid is needed.
"For Sierra Leone, the intention is to reach 400,000 beneficiaries because we know that the Ebola outbreak has affected the livelihood of the people of Sierra Leone and we think that even beyond the control of the outbreak, there will be severe food shortage since farmers are unable to continue with cultivation. "
Fadela Chaib from the WHO says efforts are also being made to ensure that people who shouldn't be moving around, are able to get access to food.
"Food has been delivered also to hospitals where patients are taken care of and people under quarantine who are not able to leave their homes to purchase food. Providing regular food supplies is a very important means of limiting unnecessary movement."
Earlier this month, the WHO gave the green light to use untested pharmaceuticals to treat Ebola patients.
The senior Ebola official, Dr David Nabarro, says this has to be done carefully, but it's essential.
"There are a number of potential treatments and also vaccines for Ebola virus disease that are being looked at and so I'm very pleased indeed that the World Health Organization is looking at ways in which access can be fast-tracked. That of course has got to be done in a way that does not shortcut the proper procedures for developing new therapies and vaccines. But clearly this is super-important and I'm totally committed to what WHO is doing."
And on a more positive note, Dr Nabarro says the current Ebola outbreak has at least also provided some valuable lessons to the world, that will be useful in future crises.
"My lesson one is preparedness for infectious diseases really matters in our world. No. 2 - an outbreak of an infectious disease like this goes beyond health. It affects all other aspects of governance in society. And that means we need a whole of society response. No. 3 - the United Nations family has a very much broader engagement now with multiple partners. We've heard Centres of Disease Control mentioned, but I'd also like to identify Medicins Sans Frontieres, the International Committee of the Red Cross. Increasingly, we work as much broader coalitions of actors in working on these issues together."
For now, though, those in affected countries aren't thinking of future crises.
This Sierra Leone man is hoping authorities can quickly deal with the current emergency.
"Ebola is within our midst and it's very deadly. We all need to come together to take precautionary measures to be able to make sure that this deadly disease is relegated from our country for once and for all."
