The West African country of Senegal has closed its borders with Guinea over fears that the Ebola outbreak could spread , according to the Senegalese Interior Ministry . The closure includes any aircraft and ships traveling to Senegal from Guinea , Sierra Leone or Liberia . Senegal is located to the northwest of Guinea , which as of August 20 had 579 suspected Ebola cases , according to the World Health Organization . Sierra Leone and Liberia border Guinea to the southwest . Those three nations have been the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak . So far , 2,473 suspected cases have been reported to WHO from those three countries and Nigeria . Nigeria now has a total of four Ebola patients under treatment at an isolation ward , bringing the total number of reported cases in the country to 14 , officials said . More than half of the patients in the outbreak have died . It 's the largest Ebola outbreak on record . And still , WHO says , the numbers do n't tell the whole picture . `` The magnitude of the Ebola outbreak , especially in Liberia and Sierra Leone , has been underestimated for a number of reasons , '' the organization said in a statement Friday . `` Many families hide infected loved ones in their homes . `` Others deny that a patient has Ebola and believe that care in an isolation ward -- viewed as an incubator of the disease -- will lead to infection and certain death . Most fear the stigma and social rejection that come to patients and families when a diagnosis of Ebola is confirmed . '' Corpses in these countries are being buried without determining cause of death , WHO says . Medical staff can not keep up with the current demand , especially with the limited supplies they have on hand . `` In some areas , most notably Monrovia , virtually all health services have shut down , '' WHO says . `` Fear keeps patients out and causes medical staff to flee . '' Senegal is not the first country to close its border during the outbreak . President Ellen Sirleaf has shut most of Liberia 's borders to contain the virus . The few points of entry that are still open are testing people passing through for Ebola . Guinea and Sierra Leone have done the same . Kenya , South Africa and others in the region are also limiting travel to and from the area . In its first statement on the Ebola outbreak , the African Union this week expressed its `` deep concern at the current situation , and its full solidarity and support to the countries affected by this epidemic . '' At its meeting in Addis Ababa , Ethiopia , the group of African nations authorized the `` immediate deployment of an AU-led Military and Civilian Humanitarian Mission , comprising medical doctors , nurses and other medical and paramedical personnel , as well as military personnel , as required for the effectiveness and protection of the Mission . '' Medecins Sans Frontieres , also known as Doctors Without Borders , describes Ebola as `` one of the world 's most deadly diseases . '' The virus is highly infectious , and is transmitted through bodily fluids such as blood , sweat and feces . Two to 21 days after a person is infected , symptoms such as fever , muscle pain and a sore throat appear . The fever then progresses to vomiting and diarrhea , difficulty breathing , impaired organ function and internal bleeding . Ebola hemorrhagic fever can be deadly in up to 90 % of cases , though the current outbreak 's mortality rate has been around 50 % . Ebola virus : 9 things to know . On Thursday , residents in the Monrovia 's West Point slum protested a government-enforced Ebola quarantine . An estimated 50,000 people live in the West Point area . Armed soldiers were deployed to keep the quarantine in place , CNN 's Isha Sesay reported . Liberia has been hardest hit by the virus , with 972 suspected cases and 576 deaths . Meanwhile , the disease 's infectious nature has health officials around the globe on high alert . But so far , any suspected cases outside the four West African countries affected by the outbreak have turned out to be false alarms . Test results on a patient in California this week were negative for the deadly virus , according to the state 's health department . Similar cases in New York , Ireland , Abu Dhabi and the Philippines have also tested negative for Ebola .
Nigerian officials report two new deaths , bringing deaths in that country to 14 . Senegal has closed its borders with Guinea over fears about the impending outbreak . So far , 2,473 suspected virus cases haven been reported to WHO . Ebola outbreak has been vastly underestimated , WHO said .