The Ebola virus is infecting people faster than expected but the World Health Organization said it can be stopped.

WHO head Margaret Chan said that if the outbreak is not properly contained and managed, it will result in the tragic loss of hundreds even thousands of lives.

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"This outbreak is spreading faster than our efforts to control it," Chan said during a crisis meeting in Guinea.

However, if Ebola is controlled properly, "catastrophic" loss can be avoided, she added.

The virus kills 90 percent of those who are infected, according to WHO. It has already claimed the lives of 728 Africans in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, all located in West Africa.

The effort to combat the virus is now focused in finding people who have come in contact with those who were infected to prevent further spread of the disease.

Chan said the longer the virus spreads, the more dangerous it becomes.

"Constant mutation and adaptation are the survival mechanisms of viruses and other microbes. We must not give this virus the opportunity to deliver more surprises," the WHO head added.

Meanwhile, two of the staff of a U.S. relief agency who contracted the virus will be sent to the United States to be treated in a special isloation unt in Atlanta, Georgia.

The two Americans who were infected will be treated at Atlanta's Emory University Hospital. One is arriving on Saturday while the second patient will arrive after a few days

Both victims will be brought in by a private jet and will wear body suits to prevent transmission of the virus.

U.S. Peace Corps volunteers sent to West Africa have been relocated to avoid infection by the virus.

The Ebola virus is spread by direct contact with an infected person's bodily fluids, organs or by eating bush meat.

The disease has no known cure and takes two to 21 days for the symptoms to manifest.

The natural host of the Ebola virus is believed to be fruit bats. 

TagsEbola Virus, Ebola outbreak, West Africa, WHO