Ebola is spreading at lightning speed across Liberia says the group Doctors without Borders.

"The number is going up rapidly. Faster than what we thought, forcing us to adapt our plans and our strategy on a daily basis, a coordinator said.

Lindi Hurum, the group's emergency coordinator in Monrovia says they're struggling to keep up with a growing demand for treatment.

"We opened this centre a week ago and it's completely full today. We are desperately trying to get more beds, we have bulldozers and rub halls getting up.

Part of the reason the group is facing such huge numbers is that they're the primary medical shop in town.

"The healthcare system has more or less broken down. Hospitals have closed, the clinics are closed, some of them have reopened but the staff is afraid to go back because they are afraid to get the disease."

At least 120 healthcare workers throughout West Africa have died from this latest outbreak of the virus. Ebola, which is one of the deadliest diseases known to man is transmitted by contact with body fluids. First detected in March, it has claimed the lives of at least 1,427 people throughout western Africa.

Doctors Without Borders says it could be months before quarantine and other containment measures begin to have an effect.