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The global response to Ebola has helped to slow down the epidemic in Liberia but the deadly virus continues to spread in Sierra Leone and Guinea, the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a press release Monday, according to Sputnik.

“The outbreak continues to surge in Sierra Leone, and there has been a troubling spread in Guinea’s capitol city. Improvements in contact tracing are urgently needed,” CDC Director Tom Frieden said in the statement following a week in West Africa.

Frieden said that Liberia had “has the upper hand against the virus,” due to improved access to Ebola Treatment Units and Community Care Centers, as well as safe burials and community engagement.

CDC director said that seven months since the Ebola outbreak started there still remains much work to stem the outbreak, which has killed nearly 7,000 in the three hardest West African countries, according to the World Health Organization.

The US is providing experts to help local governments stem the outbreak, as well as treatment centers, field hospitals, and experimental antivirals for health workers. The budget authorized by the US Congress devotes more than $5 billion to combat Ebola.