Here's Why Africa's Ebola Epidemic Is Officially 'Spiraling Out of Control'

Health authorities admitted Tuesday that the West African Ebola virus epidemic is accelerating quickly and may soon outpace the ability of medical teams to contain it. Meanwhile, the grim situation is being made worse by a massive strike among Liberian health care workers, who have accumulated large amounts of unpaid wages while suffering from overwork and the constant risk of exposure.

"It's spiraling out of control. The situation is bad, and it looks like it's going to get worse quickly," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Tom Frieden told NBC News. "There is still a window of opportunity to tamp it down but that window is closing, and we need to act now. ... This is different than every other Ebola situation we've ever had. It's spreading widely, throughout entire countries, through multiple countries, in cities and very fast."

Why is it spreading out of control? Here's what you need to know:- It's spreading from rural areas to big cities. Ebola virus outbreaks typically originate in rural areas where residents often come into contact with potentially infected wildlife like monkeys or fruit bats...