The U.S. government is preparing to announce new Ebola projections that include a worst-case scenario of 550,000 cases by January, according to a report.

The estimates are currently in development at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and would help provide a baseline to measure the effectiveness of the ramped-up American response to the outbreak.

The figures set to be released next week assume no additional intervention in West Africa, according to Bloomberg, which broke the news. Hundreds of thousands more people could contract the virus under that scenario, the numbers show.

Health officials and organizations are racing to contain Ebola, warning the outbreak is "spiraling out of control" with 2,630 dead as of this week. Cases are concentrated in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Libera, and present in two other countries.

CDC Director Tom Frieden has been a key advocate for Ebola victims within the Obama administration, urging the United States to intensify its response.

The White House announced Friday that its chief information officer, Steve VanRoekel, will be deployed to improve the use of technology and data to fight the epidemic.   more at url