Officials are confirming that almost 1,000 people have died and an estimated 20,000 people are infected in Angola's worst cholera outbreak in a decade.

Ten weeks into the outbreak, health officials are reporting an average of 30 newly-infected people and one death every hour, and are calling on international organizations and world governments to do more to stop the epidemic.

Richard Veerman, head of the international medical humanitarian organization, Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) effort in Angola says, "Everybody has been slow to respond."

"Many factors have conspired to make this cholera outbreak one of the worst ever seen in the country. But with what we know today there can be no excuse for not doing everything humanly possible to prevent the death toll from climbing much higher."

According to MSF, at one treatment center in Luanda alone, 240 new patients arrived in just 24 hours.

While the majority of cases of cholera are usually detected after an outbreak has peaked, Veerman warns, "Today we have not yet reached the peak of this epidemic. Even based on conservative estimates, the toll of this epidemic will be extremely high."

Luis Encinas, MSF emergency coordinator for the cholera outbreak, adds, "By all measures, this outbreak is out of control."

"It is crucial that the authorities define and implement a national strategy for containing the spread of the disease, ensuring access to treatment facilities, guaranteeing availability of safe drinking water free of charge, and improving sanitation."

Encinas also believes organizations "Should also set up a reliable system for collecting epidemiological data, and dramatically expand their campaigns for educating Angolans on the disease, particularly outside the capital."

While Angola has gone almost 10 years without a cholera outbreak, conditions have deteriorated in the African nation as it rebuilds from years of civil war.