Ivory Coast has closed its land borders with Ebola-affected neighbours Guinea and Liberia to prevent the deadly virus from spreading into its territory.

Abidjan, had already imposed a ban on flights to the two countries and Sierra Leone.

Meanwhile, some aid organisations have warned the current Ebola epidemic is out of control.

The World Health Organisation estimates that it will take between six and nine months to stop.

“This is not something that is going to turn around overnight, it is not going to be easy. We expect several months of very hard work. And we expect several months of really struggling against this outbreak, but we expect to turn it around,” said Doctor Keiji Fukuda, Assistant Director-General of Health Security for the World Health Organisation.

Sierra Leone has passed a law making it a criminal offence to shelter Ebola patients.

Over 1,400 people have died of the virus since the start of the current outbreak earlier this year.