The presidents of three Ebola-stricken countries -- Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone -- gathered for an annual International Monetary Fund and World Bank meeting on Thursday and made urgent pleas for money, doctors and hospital beds.

There are now more than 8,000 people in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea that have been infected with Ebola, the World Health Organization stated in its latest report. The death toll now stands at 3,857.

"Our people are dying," Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma said by video. He described the "this evil virus" as making children orphans and leaving doctors and nurses dying and an overwhelmed medical system that can't keep up with demand, according to The Associated Press.

"This is an unforgiving disease."

Koroma said more help is needed requesting more than 5,000 doctors and medical support staff and 1,500 patient beds for Sierra Leone.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for a 20 fold surge in international aid to fight the outbreak. The U.N. and individual countries are sending money and aid and troops from Britain, and the United States are to build treatment centers.

The World Bank has committed $400 million to the three nations, and the International Monetary Fund is providing $130 million in emergency financing.

In Sierra Leone, gravediggers are back to work following a one-day strike to demand their overdue risk payments, AP reported. The country's health ministry promised to investigate the delay in payments.

In neighboring Liberia, health workers warned Wednesday they would go on strike if their demands for higher wages and better safety equipment were not met by the end of the week.

Travelers to the United States from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone will be screened as they attempt to enter the country from five U.S. airports, said Deputy Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas of the Department of Homeland Security during the live streamed teleconference on Wednesday.

The airports include John F. Kennedy in New York, Washington Dulles International, O'Hare International in Chicago, Hartsfield-Jackson International in Georgia and Newark Liberty International in New Jersey.

These five airports receive 95 percent of the 150 travelers a day from the three countries mentioned.

Mayorkas said enhanced airport screening will consist of targeted questions, temperature checks and the collection of contact information at the give affected U.S. airports. If travelers are found to have a fever or history of contact with Ebola, the CDC and other officers will conduct further interviews and assessment before taking more action.

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