Ebola could cost $33 billion and cases rise to 1.4 million by 2015 - WB/CDC

The World Bank warned Wednesday that as the Ebola virus continues to spread in West Africa, the overall economic impact of the disease could cost the regional economy up to $33 billion and leave worse lasting damages if world leaders fail to respond to the ongoing crisis.

Increased military personnel and vigilance over airport screenings are costs the West will incur in an effort to keep the disease outside its borders.

In a worst case scenario, in the next four months there Ebola cases, according to a September 23 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This would be a 175-fold increase from the current 8,033 cases. So far 3,879 people have died from the outbreak, with the majority of deaths occurring in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

"A swift policy reaction by the international community is crucial," the World Bank said in a statement about the economic effect of Ebola.

Overall, the World Bank estimates the two-year cost of the Ebola outbreak to be nearly $33 billion, a cost that could be slashed to $4 billion if steps are taken to contain the virus more quickly.

"It is far from certain that the epidemic will be fully contained by December. Over the medium term...both epidemiological and economic contagion in the broader sub-region of West Africa is likely."

"With Ebola's potential to inflict massive economic costs on Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone and the rest of their neighbors in West Africa, the international community must find ways to get past logistical roadblocks and bring in more doctors and trained medical staff, more hospital beds and more health and development support to help stop Ebola in its tracks," said Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank.

He added that the enormous economic cost of the current outbreak to the affected countries and the world "could have been avoided by prudent ongoing investment in strengthening health care systems."

Sub-Saharan Africa is currently one of the global community's fastest growing markets, with the IMF predicting nearly 6 percent growth in the regions economy in 2015. But local struggles and the risk of Ebola continuing to leave African shores threaten to degrade West Africa's influence and stability.

In the event of a ‘High Ebola’ scenario which sees the disease spreading to Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal, it would cost the region $32.6 billion, or 3.3 percent of regional GDP. The region would lose $7.4 billion in 2014 and an additional $25.2 billion in 2015.

If the spread of the disease is contained by the end of 2014, it would hit gross domestic product by $3.8 billion by the end of 2015. This is a “Low Ebola” risk scenario.

Natural resources are abundant in the region, the oil industry in Nigeria as well as offshore reserves are a critical cog in the economy, and Ebola is keeping business away.

ExxonMobil has postponed oil drilling off the coast of Liberia, where it previously planned to explore offshore blocks. Other exports- such as rubber and iron ore are expected to tumble as investors halt operations and expansion.

No cases of the deadly disease have been reported in Libya, which has the largest proven oil reserves in Africa. Nigeria has contained its outbreak.

Nonetheless, tourism companies are seeing a dramatic drop in Africa holiday traffic; bookings have dropped 30 percent to some popular destinations, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council.