Some countries have encountered difficulties in their efforts to control the epidemic.[26] In some areas, people have become suspicious of both the government and hospitals, some of which have been attacked by angry protesters who believe either that the disease is a hoax or that the hospitals are responsible for the disease. Many of the areas seriously affected by the outbreak are areas of extreme poverty with limited access to the soap and running water needed to help control the spread of disease.[27] Other factors include reliance on traditional medicine and cultural practices that involve physical contact with the deceased, especially death customs such as washing and kissing[28] the body of the deceased.[29][30][31] Some hospitals lack basic supplies and are understaffed, increasing the chance of staff catching the virus themselves. In August, the WHO reported that ten percent of the dead have been health care workers.[32] By the end of August, the WHO reported that the loss of so many health workers was making it difficult for them to provide sufficient numbers of foreign medical staff.[33] In September, the WHO estimated that the countries' capacity for treating EVD patients was insufficient by the equivalent of 2,122 beds. By the end of October many of the hospitals in the affected area had become dysfunctional or had been closed, leading some health experts to state that the inability to treat other medical needs may be causing "an additional death toll [that is] likely to exceed that of the outbreak itself". [34] [35]