Worst-ever Ebola Outbreak, by the Numbers

Author(s)
Schwartz, D.
Publication language
English
Pages
5pp
Date published
16 Sep 2014
Publisher
CBC News
Type
Articles
Keywords
Disasters, Epidemics & pandemics, Urban
Link
http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/worst-ever-ebola-outbreak-by-the-numbers-1.2767239

The number of cases and the numbers of deaths in the Ebola outbreak in West Africa already exceed the totals for all previous outbreaks combined. The first known Ebola outbreaks took place in 1976.

The current outbreak, thought to have started in December 2013, "is a huge and urgent global problem that demands a huge and urgent global response," UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in an Oct. 17 speech.

"Liberia remains the country worst affected by the epidemic," according to the WHO.

The number of new confirmed cases in Liberia's capital, Monrovia, has dropped sharply over the past four weeks. However, the latest WHO report says there are "reports from laboratory staff and first responders of large numbers of new cases."

A separate outbreak began in the Democratic Republic of Congo in August, 2014.

This article looks at Ebola by the numbers.