The International Red Cross is gearing up to train 2,000 more volunteers to help combat the West African Ebola Outbreak, pushing volunteers up to 5,600.  But would that be anywhere near enough if the death toll goes from 2,300 to a doomsday scenario of millions of lives lost?

“The right time to get this epidemic under control in these countries has been missed,” said Dr. Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit of the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine in Hamburg.  The window of opportunity was in May and June.  Now, Schmidt-Chanasit says the virus will have to “burn itself out” in West Africa.

His worst-case projection is that Ebola more or less infects everybody in Sierra Leone and Liberia, and half of them would die – that’s around five million people. 

And he’s not saying international aid can’t help, it’s needed now more than ever.  Schmidt-Chanasit says it is vitally important “to help where it is still possible, in Nigeria and Senegal for example”.  But Sierra Leone and Liberia, this Doctor believes “it is far from reality to bring enough help there to get a grip on the epidemic”.

Schmidt-Chanasit’s words are tough to read, and they’re being met with contempt in some quarters.  Some aid workers think these darkest of predictions are spreading hopelessness amongst the Ebola. 

The UN World Health Organization (WHO) refuses to comment on Schmidt-Chanasit’s statement.  But WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib maintains that “of course” there is still hope for Liberia and Sierra Leone, and that “We can bring the situation under control in 6 to 9 months”.