Ebola's Vicious Strike in Afrika Alarms Global Healthcare Community
Ebola virus, a deadly virus first detected in 1976, struck western Africa early 2014, and soon became a regional crisis spanning a trio of nations: Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The virus first struck in January 2014 in southeast Guinea, but the first cases were only detected in March 2014. There is no known cure for the disease, and the care providers should take utmost restraint when tending care to patients. The medical professional and care givers must dress themselves in Tyvec suit, covering from head to toe with protective gears to minimize, but not eliminate, the chance of contracting the infection. Nearly 1,093 people in these three nations were infected by Ebola virus, and at least 660 of them were killed. In addition to difficulty in providing care in remote locations, the international medical community also faces physical violence and ignorance by local populace, who accuse aid workers of bringing the virus to the region. On July 26, 2014, a top Liberian doctor, Dr. Samuel Brisbane, who was treating Ebola patients in John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Monrovia, himself succumbed to death from the disease itself. A Fort Worth doctor, Kent Brantly, who went to Liberia as part of a medical charity, Samaritan's Purse, contracted the virus and is now under isolation ward getting treatment in Monrovia.
Nigeria Reports First Ebola Death
In an ominous sign of Ebola virus spreading to the most populous nation in Africa, a Liberian, who flew to Nigeria on July 22, 2014 and fell ill while on flight, leading to his hospitalization, died on July 25, 2014. The person, Patrick Sawyer, 40, a Liberian government official and a Minnesota resident, flew in an ASKY Airlines flight from Liberia to Lagos via Togolese capital of Lome. The World Health Organization sent immediate communique to the region to contact with passengers who came close to Sawyer as the virus has now real possibility to spread in Togo and Nigeria.
Liberia Takes Measures to Contain Spread of Ebola
Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf on July 28, 2014 took steps to contain the spread of Ebola by closing all but three land checkpoints on country's borders, restricting public gathering and quarantining the communities afflicted by the virus.
Fort Worth Doctor Brought in for Treatment in the US, A Second American with Virus to Return
The Fort Worth doctor, Dr. Kent Brantly, who got infected by Ebola virus as he was treating his patients in Monrovia, Liberia from the deadly disease returned to the USA in a special protective plane to the Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, GA on August 2, 2014. He was taken to an isolation unit at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. A second American, Nancy Writebol, a nurse who was also in Monrovia treating her Ebola patients and got the virus too, is expected to return to the US on August 5, 2014 for treatment at the Emory University Hospital. Both Brantly and Writebol received an unapproved, experimental treatment, known as ZMapp, discovered by the San Diego-based Mapp Biopharmaceutical, while they were in Monrovia. Since the therapy is unapproved by the Food and Drug Administration, the novel drug may not be given to Brantly and Writebol in the USA, but FDA has no jurisdiction outside the USA. There were indications, not any conclusive proof, that both Americans got better after receiving the treatment in Monrovia.
World Health Organization Updates Ebola Figures
On August 4, 2014, WHO issued an update in the trajectory of the menacing and monstrous ravage of Ebola across vast swath of West Africa spanning four nations: Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and now its feared arrival at Nigeria, most populous African nation. So far, more than 1,600 people were infected by the virus, and 887 were deceased from it. But the most disturbing news was the potential arrival of virus at the doorstep of Nigeria as the doctor who had briefly treated Patrick Sawyer, a Liberian government official, who had succumbed to the virus on July 25, 2014, had himself gotten infected by the virus.
Liberia Declares Emergency, New Ebola Cases in Nigeria Reported
Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf on August 6, 2014, 2014 declared a state of emergency and suspended some of the rights of people as part of an effort to stench the spread of Ebola virus. Meanwhile, Nigerian Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu on August 6, 2014 said that authorities had ordered special tents for isolation of Ebola patients in Lagos in the backdrop of report of five new Ebola cases.
Agency Declares Ebola Global Emergency, Nigeria Feels the Ebola Scare
The World Health Organization on August 8, 2014 declared Ebola as global emergency, and asked international community to lend support and resources to fight it in West Africa as the "countries affected to date simply do not have the capacity to manage an outbreak of this size and complexity on their own", according to Dr. Margaret Chan, chief of WHO. WHO declared similar global emergencies for Swine Flu in 2009 and for Polio in May 2014.
Meanwhile, Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, reported 9 cases of Ebola and two deaths, including a nurse who had tended to a Minnesotan-Liberian who fell sick in the flight.
US Connects Liberia with Experimental Ebola Drug's Manufacturer as Death Toll Rises
On August 11, 2014, the U.S. government confirmed that it had connected maker of ZMAPP, Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc., with the Liberian government so that experimental drug could be used in Liberia. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization on August 11, 2014 issued an update on Ebola cases: 1,013 deaths out of 1,848 possible cases.
WHO Backs Using Untested Drug Regimen
On August 12, 2012, the World Health Organization okayed using an untested drug, ZMAPP, in Western Africa. The U.N. organization convened a panel of ethicists last week to brainstorm whether it's okay to use the drug on sick patients in Africa. The drug was used in treating two Americans, Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol, who had contracted the disease in Liberia, and a Spanh priest, Miguel Pajares. Both Brantly and Writebol are now in isolation units at the Emory University Hospital, and both of them were given ZMAPP while they were in Liberia. At that time, both of them were reported to be improving. However, Pajares, who had received the drug too, succumbed on early August 12.
Liberia Declares Curfew, WHO Ups the Estimate of Ebola Toll
In the event of August 16, 2014, attack on an Ebola quarantine center in Monrovia's West Pointe District, President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf on August 19, 2014 declared a 9PM-to-6AM curfew in Monrovia and imposed a quarantine on a major slum. During the attack on August 16, people looted blood-stained mattresses and other stuffs, stoking fear that the virus might now spread more drastically in the neighborhood. Meanwhile, at Geneva, the World Health Organization on August 19, 2014 issued its latest estimate of Ebola virus infection and death toll: 1,229 had died and 2,240 were reported to have been infected.
Fort Worth Doctor Free of Ebola, Released from Hospital
In a highly publicized and televised event, Fort Worth doctor Kent Brantly appeared publicly surrounded by family and his doctors at the Emory University Hospital on August 21, 2014. Dr. Brantly was pronounced free of Ebola and not contagious to others, reflecting a remarkable 19-day trek from the jaw of death to being free of disease and the prowess of advanced and aggressive medical treatment only USA may afford to provide. Another Ebola patient, Nancy Writebol, was quietly released on August 19, 2014.
WHO Warns Thousands More Ebola Cases
World Health Organization issued August 28, 2014 a gloomy outlook on Ebola that would have potential to overwhelm several African nations, hit tens of thousands and kill thousands. According to an assessment issued by WHO on August 28, 2014, Ebola would get lot worse before it would get better and controllable. The deadly virus would hit about 20,000 people, according to WHO. Meanwhile, the virus had killed 1,552 people so far out of a total of 3,069 afftected in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. A separate strain had hit Congo , and killed 13 out of 42 people.
Ebola's Devastating Bout Moving Out of Grasp, U.N. Says
As a third American, an obstetrician not working in the Ebola ward, was confirmed to have contracted the deadly disease in Liberia, the group Doctors Without Borders President Joanne Liu said on September 2, 2014 that the group was at its end in dealing with the Ebola outbreak and asked international community to address the issue with same importance as major biological disaster by providing military, medical and civilian personnel. Meanwhile, the U.N. special envoy for the Ebola crisis, Dr. David Naborro said on September 2, 2014 that the outbreak might be spinning out of "our grasp". Meanwhile the infection of a third American was disclosed by the charity Serving In Mission (SIM).
SIM President Bruce Johnson on September 3, 2014 identified the third American as Dr. Rick Sacra.
Gates Foundation Pledges Donation to Fight Ebola
In the backdrop of UN's call to raise $600 million to fight the deadly Ebola outbreak in West Africa, Gates Foundation on September 10, 2014 pledged $50 million. Separately the US government offered approximately $100 million and World Bank Group about $200 million to fight the epidemic that had affected more than 4,200 people and killed at least 2,200 of them, according to the WHO, in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. On September 10, 2014, the U.S. Ambassador to Sierra Leone Kathleen FitzGibbon handed the keys of five ambulances to the country's president, Ernest Bai Koroma, at Freetown in a show of U.S. resolve to stand beside and support the afflicted region fight the disease.
Cuba Steps in With Big Bang to Fight Ebola
Cuba's minister of public health Dr. Roberto Morales Ojeda on September 12, 2014 pledged to join WHO in its fight against ebola that was sweeping across much of West Africa. Joining WHO chief Dr. Margaret Chan at Geneva, Dr. Ojeda said that Cuba would send 62 doctors and 103 nurses to fight against ebola.
U.S. Scientists Warn Far More Ebola Cases than WHO
According to The New York Times and The Dallas Morning News reports published on September 14, 2014, some leading U.S. scientists estimated that it would take 12 to 18 months more to control ebola virus, and the disease might sicken hundreds of thousands of people in West Africa contrary to the WHO estimate on August 28, 2014 that the epidemic could last 9 months and affect 20,000 people. WHO reported on September 12, 2014 that as of September 7, 2014 the number of affected cases rose to 4,366, with 2,218 deaths.
Obama Calls Ebola a Global Security Threat, Orders Deployment of U.S. Troops
Calling Ebola "a potential threat to global security", President Barack Obama on September 16, 2014 put the spotlight on Ebola as much as USA's fight against Islamic State. President Obama ordered 3,000 U.S. troops to be deployed in West Africa to provide medical and logistical support to the fight against the deadly disease that was sweeping through the region. Among other measures Obama orders were
* 17 new health care facilities with 100 beds for each facility in the affected region
* 65 U.S. officials to manage and staff a hospital in the region to treat health care workers who would fall sick
* 500 health care workers to receive training per week for Ebola treatment
* 50,000 home health care kits to be airlifted for distribution in remote areas of the afflicted region
Obama administration asked Congress for $6.2 billion to fight Ebola in West Africa.
Sierra Leone Orders Three-day Lockdown
In an unprecedented move, Sierra Leone ordered on September 18, 2014 a three-day (September 19-21, 2014) lockdown of the country of six million. During the lockdown, about 30,000 healthcare workers will fan out the country to knock doors, and check whether anyone has ebola and is refraining from taking help. Addressing the nation, President Ernest Bai Koroma said on September 18, 2014 that "the survival and dignity of each and every Sierra Leonean is at stake". The volunteers will also distribute health kits among residents and dispense with recommendation. Also, during the day, far from the land affliced by the deadly virus, the U.N. Security Council unanimously called the crisis "a threat to international peace and security".
CDC Issues Ominous Prediction
Using sophisticated mathematical models, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, issued a worst-case scenario and a best-case scenario on September 23, 2014 on potential number of Ebola cases in Liberia and Sierra Leone. According to the worst-case scenario, the virus would affect 21,000 people in both countries by September 30, 2014, and by January 20, 2015, the total number of Ebola cases would rise as high as 1.4 million. The best-case scenario predicted almost end the disease by January 20, 2015.
America's First Ebola Infection Case Confirmed
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, on September 30, 2014 confirmed first Ebola infection in Dallas. The patient, Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian, came to Dallas on September 19, 2014 without any apparent symptom. He felt sick and went to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas on September 25, 2014. What happened afterward were a series of missteps and medical errors, exposing a serious gap in proposed plans and their execution in case there was an Ebola eruption here. Duncan was given Tylenol and sent home despite his admission to healthcare professionals at the hospital that he had recently flown from Liberia. Two days later, he had returned to the same hospital, this time in an emergency van. Tests that came back on September 30, 2014 showed presence of Ebola virus in Duncan's body. Addressing the reporters, CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden assured a nervous nation on September 30, 2014 that the nation's healthcare system was fully prepared to "stop Ebola in its tracks".
First Ebola Death on American Soil Raises Anxiety, Questions about Preparedness
Thomas Eric Duncan, who was hospitalized in the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas with Ebola infection and put into isolation since September 25, 2014, passed away on October 8, 2014. His death marked the first Ebola death in America, and pointed to significant and serious gap that had remained between emergency medical plan to address the deadly disease and its execution.
A Second Ebola Case in Dallas Roils Nerve
A second Ebola case surfaced on October 12, 2014 as the critical care nurse Nina Pham, who had taken care of Thomas Eric Duncan during his stay in Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, became the first individual to become infected on American soil.
WHO's Whopping Estimate of New Ebola Cases Alarming
World Health Organization's Assistant Director-General Dr. Bruce Aylward on October 14, 2014 issued an alarming estimate that, if not checked and preventive measures put in place, 10,000 weekly new cases of Ebola would emerge in December in stricken region of West Africa.
Second Presbyterian Nurse Infected with Ebola
A second Texas Health Presbyterian nurse Amber Vinson was infected with Ebola. The October 15, 2014, news of a second nurse being infected with Ebola raised more questions about medical preparedness of the health care system in general and the hospital in particular. The nurse last week flew to Akron in Ohio to plan her upcoming wedding and returned to Dallas on October 13, leading to a specter of more cases of infections among people who were in the same flights and, among her friends and family, had met with her during her stay in Ohio. Meanwhile, on October 16, 2014, another infected nurse Nina Pham was transferred to an NIH hospital near Washington.
CDC Director on Hot Seat During House Hearing
At a House of Representative hearing on October 16, 2014, CDC Director Thomas Frieden was grilled by lawmakers on lack of preparedness on the part of the agency.
Nigeria Cleared of Ebola's Grip
The World Health Organization on October 20, 2014 announced Nigeria, a country afflicted by 20 cases and eight deaths, to be Ebola-free, and credited the country for stalling the spread disease by adopting and applying simple preventive steps such as emphasis on hydration.
First Case of Ebola in New York Reported
A doctor who had recently returned from Guinea was reported on October 23, 2014 to have tested positive for Ebola. Dr. Craig Spencer, who had treated Ebola patients in the West African country of Guinea as part of Doctors Without Borders, is being treated at an isolation ward in a New York City hospital. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York state Governor Andrew Cuomo urged calm and reiterated that there was no need for alarm. Dr. Spencer returned from Guinea on October 17, 2014.
Dallas Nurse Released from Hospital, Receives Hug from President
Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital nurse Nina Pham was declared cleared of Ebola virus on October 24, 2014, and was subsequently released. She later visited White House, and received a hug from President Barack Obama. The second Presbyterian nurse, Amber Vinson, was also cleared of Ebola virus during the day, but remained at the Emory University Hospital.
New York and New Jersey to Enforce Mandatory Quarantines
In a sharply radical departure from the recommendations of the medical community, governors of New York and New Jersey--Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Gov. Chris Christie--on October 24, 2014 announced steps to quarantine returning medical workers from the three affected West African nations as well as anyone traveling there and had contacts with Ebola patients.
Nurse Put in Isolation Despite Testing Negative of Ebola
A nurse, Kaci Hickox, who returned from Sierra Leone on October 24, 2014 was immediately put in an isolation center after arriving at Newark. Although tested negative for Ebola, Ms. Hickox was kept in mandatory isolation unit against her will, leading to frustration among medical community for lack of "dignity and humanity" by the authorities towards returning healthcare professionals.
WHO's Estimate of Ebola Cases Surpasses 10,000
On October 25, 2014, World Health Organization issued its latest estimate of Ebola cases, a day after first Ebola case in Mali was reported. According to the latest WHO estimate, total number of worldwide Ebola cases stood at 10,141 and death toll rose to 4,922, including the latest death of a 2-year-old child in Mali.
Nurse's Odyssey Puts New Jersey, and Now, Maine on Ebola Radar
Nurse Kaci Hickox left New Jersey for the northern Maine town of Fort Kent, where she had been living with her boyfriend, amid state Governor Paul LePage's effort to keep her under a voluntary quarantine. Hickox didn't heed warnings from state officials, and defied orders of voluntary quarantine by taking a run outside her home or a bicycle ride. A frustrated governor sought judicial help, but Maine Judge Charles LaVerdiere ruled on October 31, 2014 that Hickox was within her right to go anywhere she pleased, handing out a defeat to state.
Canada Follows Australia to Suspend Entry Visa to People from West Africa
In a callous move, Canada on October 31, 2104 announced that it would suspend issuing visas to citizens from West Africa's Ebola-stricken countries. Canada's move followed recent decision by Australia that drew sharp criticism from WHO Director-General Margaret Chan, who on October 29, 2014, observed that closing the borders won't stop spread of Ebola.
UN Ebola Chief Hopeful about Containing the Virus
UN Ebola chief Dr. David Nabarro said on November 6, 2014 that world, at last, had geared up with a massive response to the Ebola crisis in West Africa amid World Health Organization's latest estimate that out of 13,042 reported cases of Ebola, 4,818 people had died. According to WHO's latest report on new Ebola cases, Liberia was improving, Guinea remained stable while Sierra Leone was still deteriorating.
Liberia Lifts Emergency
As trends of decline in new Ebola cases started to arise in the country, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on November 13, 2014 announced the lifting of national emergency in a nationally televised address. She contended that enough progress had been made to warrant the lifting of the emergency that had closed schools, banned large public gatherings, shut some markets and allowed government to restrict people's movement.
WHO Declares Sierra Leone Ebola Free
On November 7, 2015, WHO declared Sierra Leone Ebola-free as 42-day incubation period expired without a single new case, a feat Liberia had first earned in May 2015, only to see the re-emergence of Ebola and eventually again Ebola-free in September 2015.
Watch for End of Ebola Epidemic Begins in Guinea
10 days after Sierra Leone was declared Ebola-free, WHO on November 17, 2015 began a 42-day incubation period for Guinea to see whether any new Ebola case emerged after a 3-week-old girl tested negative.
Three New Cases of Ebola Surface in Liberia
More than two months after World Health Organization declared Liberia Ebola-free, three new cases were reported. Dr. Francis Kateh, Chief Medical Officer and acting head of Liberia's Ebola Case Management System, said on November 20, 2015 that he was not sure how the new patients had contracted the virus. Liberia was declared Ebola-free first time on May 9, 2015, only to witness Ebola re-surface. Second time, the country was declared Ebola-free four months later on September 3, 2015. Surely it's a setback for Liberia, which had witnessed more than 10,600 cases and at least 4,800 deaths from the virus, as well as for WHO for the virus to re-emerge one more time.
Guinea Declared Ebola-Free
The World Health Organization (WHO) on December 29, 2015 declared Guinea, the birthplace of the recent epidemic, Ebola-free as there was no new known cases of Ebola over the past 21 days. With this declaration, the original chain of Ebola infection had come to an end, according to WHO's regional director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti. With this declaration, only Liberia, which has been declared Ebola-free on May 9, 2015 and, second time, on September 3, 2015, is on the countdown mode until January 14, 2016 to become Ebola-free for the third time. Sierra Leone was declared Ebola-free on November 7, 2015. Since the current round of Ebola had erupted in the wooded areas in Guinea in early 2014 and spread to neighboring countries, mainly Sierra Leone and Liberia, at least 11,300 people were killed and more than 28,000 people were sickened across 10 nations.
Deadly Ebola Outbreak Over, WHO Declares
After 42-day incubation period in which Liberia didn't see any new infection, World Health Organization on January 14, 2016 announced that the present round of Ebola epidemic was over after overwhelming the health care systems in three West African nations of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, infecting more than 28,500 people and killing more than 11,300 people. At its height, Ebola marauded neighborhood after neighborhood in the three West African nations, left a devastating trail in its wake, and exposed the loopholes and severe shortcomings of international agencies to tackle a crisis of this magnitude. Addressing the reporters at the organization's headquarters in Geneva, WHO Director-General Margaret Chan called the wiping out the initial strain of epidemic a "monumental achievement", and cautioned against complacency.
Ebola Returns a Day after WHO Announces Epidemic's End
A day after WHO Director-General Margaret Chan announced that the Ebola epidemic that had erupted in early 2014 had ended with the lapse of 42-day incubation period without any new case in Liberia, authorities in Sierra Leone said on January 15, 2016 that a dead body of a 22-year-old woman from the northern part of the country had tested positive for Ebola. This case didn't have its roots in the original trail of the epidemic that had erupted in early 2014 in Guinea.
Two New Cases of Ebola Reported in Guinea
Nearly two-and-half months after World Health Organization's December 29, 2015, declaration of Guinea to be Ebola-free, Guinean administration on March 17, 2016 reported that two deaths from the same family in the town of Koropara, in N'Zerekore prefecture, about 620 miles southeast of Conakry were due to Ebola virus.
WHO Ends International Emergency for Ebola
World Health Organization on March 29, 2016 ended the state of international emergency for Ebola.
Latest Ebola Outbreak in Guinea Over
After the latest outbreak of Ebola in Guinea reported on March 17, 2016, the WHO on June 1, 2016 announced the crisis over, setting off a 90-day surveillance period.
SECOND-WORST EBOLA OUTBREAK
Ebola Spreads to a Major Population Center in Congo
The Associated Press on December 7, 2018 reported that Ebola had now struck a major city in eastern Congo, Butembo, a city of more than 1 million residents, and aid workers were facing violence in the conflict-ridden city. On August 1, 2018, WHO had declared the spread of Ebola in Congo as a major outbreak and it had become the second-worst after 2014 Ebola pandemic that ravaged West Africa that had killed 11,300 people. The current outbreak in Congo had infected 471 people, out of whom 423 had been confirmed positively. 225 out of 423 had died. However, this time the medical and healthcare workers are better equipped to fight Ebola as they are carrying out so called "ring vaccination" to inoculate victims and their contacts with an experimental vaccine that Merck had unveiled. Without the experimental vaccine, Ebola might have infected about 10,000 people.
Congo Death Toll from Ebola Rises more than 1,000
The second-worst Ebola epidemic has already crossed a tragic milestone with four-digit casualty number. On May 3, 2019, Congolese Health Minister Oly Ilunga said that with the four deaths in the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak, Katwa, in eastern Congo, death toll now stood at 1,008. The mitigation effort became almost impossible in parts of Eastern Congo as violent masses continued attacking health workers and Ebola treatment facilities. One Cameroonian epidemiologist working for WHO was killed last month in one such attack at a hospital in Butembo, a city in the heart of epicenter. The 2014-16 outbreak in West Africa was the worst as the deadly disease in that cycle claimed more than 11,000 lives.
Death Toll from Ebola in Congo Crosses 2,000
In a remarkable speed and alarming increase in number of cases identified, Congo has crossed a milestone that nobody wants to hope and emulate. The Associated Press on June 4, 2019 reported that the epidemic that had ravaged Eastern Congo now took 2,000 lives and growing.
Ebola in Congo Declared an International Emergency
Three days after Congolese authorities made public on July 14, 2019 that an Ebola case had been detected in Goma, a city of 2 million people, it was all but certain that WHO would declare the second-worst epidemic of Ebola as an international emergency. On July 17, 2019, World Health Organization announced the epidemic as an international emergency at a meeting in Geneva. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom has assured the world that although the risk of Ebola in and around Congo is high, its spread beyond the continent has a low likelihood. Doctors Without Borders President Dr. Joanne Liu hoped that the July 17, 2019, "international emergency" declaration would infuse additional money in the fight against the epidemic.
WHO Seeks Three Times Ebola Funding
World Health Organization on July 23, 2019 sought $324 million in international fund to fight against Ebola in Congo for the next six months. The request is on the top of $114 million provided since August 2018.
Congo's Former Health Minister Arrested
Congo's former health minister, Oly Ilunga was taken into custody, according to a September 14, 2019, police statement. Ilunga resigned from the cabinet in July 2019 after President Felix Tshisekedi had decided to take over the fight against Ebola in eastern Congo onto his own hands.
Ebola virus, a deadly virus first detected in 1976, struck western Africa early 2014, and soon became a regional crisis spanning a trio of nations: Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The virus first struck in January 2014 in southeast Guinea, but the first cases were only detected in March 2014. There is no known cure for the disease, and the care providers should take utmost restraint when tending care to patients. The medical professional and care givers must dress themselves in Tyvec suit, covering from head to toe with protective gears to minimize, but not eliminate, the chance of contracting the infection. Nearly 1,093 people in these three nations were infected by Ebola virus, and at least 660 of them were killed. In addition to difficulty in providing care in remote locations, the international medical community also faces physical violence and ignorance by local populace, who accuse aid workers of bringing the virus to the region. On July 26, 2014, a top Liberian doctor, Dr. Samuel Brisbane, who was treating Ebola patients in John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Monrovia, himself succumbed to death from the disease itself. A Fort Worth doctor, Kent Brantly, who went to Liberia as part of a medical charity, Samaritan's Purse, contracted the virus and is now under isolation ward getting treatment in Monrovia.
Nigeria Reports First Ebola Death
In an ominous sign of Ebola virus spreading to the most populous nation in Africa, a Liberian, who flew to Nigeria on July 22, 2014 and fell ill while on flight, leading to his hospitalization, died on July 25, 2014. The person, Patrick Sawyer, 40, a Liberian government official and a Minnesota resident, flew in an ASKY Airlines flight from Liberia to Lagos via Togolese capital of Lome. The World Health Organization sent immediate communique to the region to contact with passengers who came close to Sawyer as the virus has now real possibility to spread in Togo and Nigeria.
Liberia Takes Measures to Contain Spread of Ebola
Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf on July 28, 2014 took steps to contain the spread of Ebola by closing all but three land checkpoints on country's borders, restricting public gathering and quarantining the communities afflicted by the virus.
Fort Worth Doctor Brought in for Treatment in the US, A Second American with Virus to Return
The Fort Worth doctor, Dr. Kent Brantly, who got infected by Ebola virus as he was treating his patients in Monrovia, Liberia from the deadly disease returned to the USA in a special protective plane to the Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, GA on August 2, 2014. He was taken to an isolation unit at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. A second American, Nancy Writebol, a nurse who was also in Monrovia treating her Ebola patients and got the virus too, is expected to return to the US on August 5, 2014 for treatment at the Emory University Hospital. Both Brantly and Writebol received an unapproved, experimental treatment, known as ZMapp, discovered by the San Diego-based Mapp Biopharmaceutical, while they were in Monrovia. Since the therapy is unapproved by the Food and Drug Administration, the novel drug may not be given to Brantly and Writebol in the USA, but FDA has no jurisdiction outside the USA. There were indications, not any conclusive proof, that both Americans got better after receiving the treatment in Monrovia.
World Health Organization Updates Ebola Figures
On August 4, 2014, WHO issued an update in the trajectory of the menacing and monstrous ravage of Ebola across vast swath of West Africa spanning four nations: Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and now its feared arrival at Nigeria, most populous African nation. So far, more than 1,600 people were infected by the virus, and 887 were deceased from it. But the most disturbing news was the potential arrival of virus at the doorstep of Nigeria as the doctor who had briefly treated Patrick Sawyer, a Liberian government official, who had succumbed to the virus on July 25, 2014, had himself gotten infected by the virus.
Liberia Declares Emergency, New Ebola Cases in Nigeria Reported
Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf on August 6, 2014, 2014 declared a state of emergency and suspended some of the rights of people as part of an effort to stench the spread of Ebola virus. Meanwhile, Nigerian Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu on August 6, 2014 said that authorities had ordered special tents for isolation of Ebola patients in Lagos in the backdrop of report of five new Ebola cases.
Agency Declares Ebola Global Emergency, Nigeria Feels the Ebola Scare
The World Health Organization on August 8, 2014 declared Ebola as global emergency, and asked international community to lend support and resources to fight it in West Africa as the "countries affected to date simply do not have the capacity to manage an outbreak of this size and complexity on their own", according to Dr. Margaret Chan, chief of WHO. WHO declared similar global emergencies for Swine Flu in 2009 and for Polio in May 2014.
Meanwhile, Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, reported 9 cases of Ebola and two deaths, including a nurse who had tended to a Minnesotan-Liberian who fell sick in the flight.
US Connects Liberia with Experimental Ebola Drug's Manufacturer as Death Toll Rises
On August 11, 2014, the U.S. government confirmed that it had connected maker of ZMAPP, Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc., with the Liberian government so that experimental drug could be used in Liberia. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization on August 11, 2014 issued an update on Ebola cases: 1,013 deaths out of 1,848 possible cases.
WHO Backs Using Untested Drug Regimen
On August 12, 2012, the World Health Organization okayed using an untested drug, ZMAPP, in Western Africa. The U.N. organization convened a panel of ethicists last week to brainstorm whether it's okay to use the drug on sick patients in Africa. The drug was used in treating two Americans, Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol, who had contracted the disease in Liberia, and a Spanh priest, Miguel Pajares. Both Brantly and Writebol are now in isolation units at the Emory University Hospital, and both of them were given ZMAPP while they were in Liberia. At that time, both of them were reported to be improving. However, Pajares, who had received the drug too, succumbed on early August 12.
Liberia Declares Curfew, WHO Ups the Estimate of Ebola Toll
In the event of August 16, 2014, attack on an Ebola quarantine center in Monrovia's West Pointe District, President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf on August 19, 2014 declared a 9PM-to-6AM curfew in Monrovia and imposed a quarantine on a major slum. During the attack on August 16, people looted blood-stained mattresses and other stuffs, stoking fear that the virus might now spread more drastically in the neighborhood. Meanwhile, at Geneva, the World Health Organization on August 19, 2014 issued its latest estimate of Ebola virus infection and death toll: 1,229 had died and 2,240 were reported to have been infected.
Fort Worth Doctor Free of Ebola, Released from Hospital
In a highly publicized and televised event, Fort Worth doctor Kent Brantly appeared publicly surrounded by family and his doctors at the Emory University Hospital on August 21, 2014. Dr. Brantly was pronounced free of Ebola and not contagious to others, reflecting a remarkable 19-day trek from the jaw of death to being free of disease and the prowess of advanced and aggressive medical treatment only USA may afford to provide. Another Ebola patient, Nancy Writebol, was quietly released on August 19, 2014.
WHO Warns Thousands More Ebola Cases
World Health Organization issued August 28, 2014 a gloomy outlook on Ebola that would have potential to overwhelm several African nations, hit tens of thousands and kill thousands. According to an assessment issued by WHO on August 28, 2014, Ebola would get lot worse before it would get better and controllable. The deadly virus would hit about 20,000 people, according to WHO. Meanwhile, the virus had killed 1,552 people so far out of a total of 3,069 afftected in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. A separate strain had hit Congo , and killed 13 out of 42 people.
Ebola's Devastating Bout Moving Out of Grasp, U.N. Says
As a third American, an obstetrician not working in the Ebola ward, was confirmed to have contracted the deadly disease in Liberia, the group Doctors Without Borders President Joanne Liu said on September 2, 2014 that the group was at its end in dealing with the Ebola outbreak and asked international community to address the issue with same importance as major biological disaster by providing military, medical and civilian personnel. Meanwhile, the U.N. special envoy for the Ebola crisis, Dr. David Naborro said on September 2, 2014 that the outbreak might be spinning out of "our grasp". Meanwhile the infection of a third American was disclosed by the charity Serving In Mission (SIM).
SIM President Bruce Johnson on September 3, 2014 identified the third American as Dr. Rick Sacra.
Gates Foundation Pledges Donation to Fight Ebola
In the backdrop of UN's call to raise $600 million to fight the deadly Ebola outbreak in West Africa, Gates Foundation on September 10, 2014 pledged $50 million. Separately the US government offered approximately $100 million and World Bank Group about $200 million to fight the epidemic that had affected more than 4,200 people and killed at least 2,200 of them, according to the WHO, in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. On September 10, 2014, the U.S. Ambassador to Sierra Leone Kathleen FitzGibbon handed the keys of five ambulances to the country's president, Ernest Bai Koroma, at Freetown in a show of U.S. resolve to stand beside and support the afflicted region fight the disease.
Cuba Steps in With Big Bang to Fight Ebola
Cuba's minister of public health Dr. Roberto Morales Ojeda on September 12, 2014 pledged to join WHO in its fight against ebola that was sweeping across much of West Africa. Joining WHO chief Dr. Margaret Chan at Geneva, Dr. Ojeda said that Cuba would send 62 doctors and 103 nurses to fight against ebola.
U.S. Scientists Warn Far More Ebola Cases than WHO
According to The New York Times and The Dallas Morning News reports published on September 14, 2014, some leading U.S. scientists estimated that it would take 12 to 18 months more to control ebola virus, and the disease might sicken hundreds of thousands of people in West Africa contrary to the WHO estimate on August 28, 2014 that the epidemic could last 9 months and affect 20,000 people. WHO reported on September 12, 2014 that as of September 7, 2014 the number of affected cases rose to 4,366, with 2,218 deaths.
Obama Calls Ebola a Global Security Threat, Orders Deployment of U.S. Troops
Calling Ebola "a potential threat to global security", President Barack Obama on September 16, 2014 put the spotlight on Ebola as much as USA's fight against Islamic State. President Obama ordered 3,000 U.S. troops to be deployed in West Africa to provide medical and logistical support to the fight against the deadly disease that was sweeping through the region. Among other measures Obama orders were
* 17 new health care facilities with 100 beds for each facility in the affected region
* 65 U.S. officials to manage and staff a hospital in the region to treat health care workers who would fall sick
* 500 health care workers to receive training per week for Ebola treatment
* 50,000 home health care kits to be airlifted for distribution in remote areas of the afflicted region
Obama administration asked Congress for $6.2 billion to fight Ebola in West Africa.
Sierra Leone Orders Three-day Lockdown
In an unprecedented move, Sierra Leone ordered on September 18, 2014 a three-day (September 19-21, 2014) lockdown of the country of six million. During the lockdown, about 30,000 healthcare workers will fan out the country to knock doors, and check whether anyone has ebola and is refraining from taking help. Addressing the nation, President Ernest Bai Koroma said on September 18, 2014 that "the survival and dignity of each and every Sierra Leonean is at stake". The volunteers will also distribute health kits among residents and dispense with recommendation. Also, during the day, far from the land affliced by the deadly virus, the U.N. Security Council unanimously called the crisis "a threat to international peace and security".
CDC Issues Ominous Prediction
Using sophisticated mathematical models, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, issued a worst-case scenario and a best-case scenario on September 23, 2014 on potential number of Ebola cases in Liberia and Sierra Leone. According to the worst-case scenario, the virus would affect 21,000 people in both countries by September 30, 2014, and by January 20, 2015, the total number of Ebola cases would rise as high as 1.4 million. The best-case scenario predicted almost end the disease by January 20, 2015.
America's First Ebola Infection Case Confirmed
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, on September 30, 2014 confirmed first Ebola infection in Dallas. The patient, Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian, came to Dallas on September 19, 2014 without any apparent symptom. He felt sick and went to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas on September 25, 2014. What happened afterward were a series of missteps and medical errors, exposing a serious gap in proposed plans and their execution in case there was an Ebola eruption here. Duncan was given Tylenol and sent home despite his admission to healthcare professionals at the hospital that he had recently flown from Liberia. Two days later, he had returned to the same hospital, this time in an emergency van. Tests that came back on September 30, 2014 showed presence of Ebola virus in Duncan's body. Addressing the reporters, CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden assured a nervous nation on September 30, 2014 that the nation's healthcare system was fully prepared to "stop Ebola in its tracks".
First Ebola Death on American Soil Raises Anxiety, Questions about Preparedness
Thomas Eric Duncan, who was hospitalized in the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas with Ebola infection and put into isolation since September 25, 2014, passed away on October 8, 2014. His death marked the first Ebola death in America, and pointed to significant and serious gap that had remained between emergency medical plan to address the deadly disease and its execution.
A Second Ebola Case in Dallas Roils Nerve
A second Ebola case surfaced on October 12, 2014 as the critical care nurse Nina Pham, who had taken care of Thomas Eric Duncan during his stay in Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, became the first individual to become infected on American soil.
WHO's Whopping Estimate of New Ebola Cases Alarming
World Health Organization's Assistant Director-General Dr. Bruce Aylward on October 14, 2014 issued an alarming estimate that, if not checked and preventive measures put in place, 10,000 weekly new cases of Ebola would emerge in December in stricken region of West Africa.
Second Presbyterian Nurse Infected with Ebola
A second Texas Health Presbyterian nurse Amber Vinson was infected with Ebola. The October 15, 2014, news of a second nurse being infected with Ebola raised more questions about medical preparedness of the health care system in general and the hospital in particular. The nurse last week flew to Akron in Ohio to plan her upcoming wedding and returned to Dallas on October 13, leading to a specter of more cases of infections among people who were in the same flights and, among her friends and family, had met with her during her stay in Ohio. Meanwhile, on October 16, 2014, another infected nurse Nina Pham was transferred to an NIH hospital near Washington.
CDC Director on Hot Seat During House Hearing
At a House of Representative hearing on October 16, 2014, CDC Director Thomas Frieden was grilled by lawmakers on lack of preparedness on the part of the agency.
Nigeria Cleared of Ebola's Grip
The World Health Organization on October 20, 2014 announced Nigeria, a country afflicted by 20 cases and eight deaths, to be Ebola-free, and credited the country for stalling the spread disease by adopting and applying simple preventive steps such as emphasis on hydration.
First Case of Ebola in New York Reported
A doctor who had recently returned from Guinea was reported on October 23, 2014 to have tested positive for Ebola. Dr. Craig Spencer, who had treated Ebola patients in the West African country of Guinea as part of Doctors Without Borders, is being treated at an isolation ward in a New York City hospital. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York state Governor Andrew Cuomo urged calm and reiterated that there was no need for alarm. Dr. Spencer returned from Guinea on October 17, 2014.
Dallas Nurse Released from Hospital, Receives Hug from President
Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital nurse Nina Pham was declared cleared of Ebola virus on October 24, 2014, and was subsequently released. She later visited White House, and received a hug from President Barack Obama. The second Presbyterian nurse, Amber Vinson, was also cleared of Ebola virus during the day, but remained at the Emory University Hospital.
New York and New Jersey to Enforce Mandatory Quarantines
In a sharply radical departure from the recommendations of the medical community, governors of New York and New Jersey--Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Gov. Chris Christie--on October 24, 2014 announced steps to quarantine returning medical workers from the three affected West African nations as well as anyone traveling there and had contacts with Ebola patients.
Nurse Put in Isolation Despite Testing Negative of Ebola
A nurse, Kaci Hickox, who returned from Sierra Leone on October 24, 2014 was immediately put in an isolation center after arriving at Newark. Although tested negative for Ebola, Ms. Hickox was kept in mandatory isolation unit against her will, leading to frustration among medical community for lack of "dignity and humanity" by the authorities towards returning healthcare professionals.
WHO's Estimate of Ebola Cases Surpasses 10,000
On October 25, 2014, World Health Organization issued its latest estimate of Ebola cases, a day after first Ebola case in Mali was reported. According to the latest WHO estimate, total number of worldwide Ebola cases stood at 10,141 and death toll rose to 4,922, including the latest death of a 2-year-old child in Mali.
Nurse's Odyssey Puts New Jersey, and Now, Maine on Ebola Radar
Nurse Kaci Hickox left New Jersey for the northern Maine town of Fort Kent, where she had been living with her boyfriend, amid state Governor Paul LePage's effort to keep her under a voluntary quarantine. Hickox didn't heed warnings from state officials, and defied orders of voluntary quarantine by taking a run outside her home or a bicycle ride. A frustrated governor sought judicial help, but Maine Judge Charles LaVerdiere ruled on October 31, 2014 that Hickox was within her right to go anywhere she pleased, handing out a defeat to state.
Canada Follows Australia to Suspend Entry Visa to People from West Africa
In a callous move, Canada on October 31, 2104 announced that it would suspend issuing visas to citizens from West Africa's Ebola-stricken countries. Canada's move followed recent decision by Australia that drew sharp criticism from WHO Director-General Margaret Chan, who on October 29, 2014, observed that closing the borders won't stop spread of Ebola.
UN Ebola Chief Hopeful about Containing the Virus
UN Ebola chief Dr. David Nabarro said on November 6, 2014 that world, at last, had geared up with a massive response to the Ebola crisis in West Africa amid World Health Organization's latest estimate that out of 13,042 reported cases of Ebola, 4,818 people had died. According to WHO's latest report on new Ebola cases, Liberia was improving, Guinea remained stable while Sierra Leone was still deteriorating.
Liberia Lifts Emergency
As trends of decline in new Ebola cases started to arise in the country, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on November 13, 2014 announced the lifting of national emergency in a nationally televised address. She contended that enough progress had been made to warrant the lifting of the emergency that had closed schools, banned large public gatherings, shut some markets and allowed government to restrict people's movement.
WHO Declares Sierra Leone Ebola Free
On November 7, 2015, WHO declared Sierra Leone Ebola-free as 42-day incubation period expired without a single new case, a feat Liberia had first earned in May 2015, only to see the re-emergence of Ebola and eventually again Ebola-free in September 2015.
Watch for End of Ebola Epidemic Begins in Guinea
10 days after Sierra Leone was declared Ebola-free, WHO on November 17, 2015 began a 42-day incubation period for Guinea to see whether any new Ebola case emerged after a 3-week-old girl tested negative.
Three New Cases of Ebola Surface in Liberia
More than two months after World Health Organization declared Liberia Ebola-free, three new cases were reported. Dr. Francis Kateh, Chief Medical Officer and acting head of Liberia's Ebola Case Management System, said on November 20, 2015 that he was not sure how the new patients had contracted the virus. Liberia was declared Ebola-free first time on May 9, 2015, only to witness Ebola re-surface. Second time, the country was declared Ebola-free four months later on September 3, 2015. Surely it's a setback for Liberia, which had witnessed more than 10,600 cases and at least 4,800 deaths from the virus, as well as for WHO for the virus to re-emerge one more time.
Guinea Declared Ebola-Free
The World Health Organization (WHO) on December 29, 2015 declared Guinea, the birthplace of the recent epidemic, Ebola-free as there was no new known cases of Ebola over the past 21 days. With this declaration, the original chain of Ebola infection had come to an end, according to WHO's regional director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti. With this declaration, only Liberia, which has been declared Ebola-free on May 9, 2015 and, second time, on September 3, 2015, is on the countdown mode until January 14, 2016 to become Ebola-free for the third time. Sierra Leone was declared Ebola-free on November 7, 2015. Since the current round of Ebola had erupted in the wooded areas in Guinea in early 2014 and spread to neighboring countries, mainly Sierra Leone and Liberia, at least 11,300 people were killed and more than 28,000 people were sickened across 10 nations.
Deadly Ebola Outbreak Over, WHO Declares
After 42-day incubation period in which Liberia didn't see any new infection, World Health Organization on January 14, 2016 announced that the present round of Ebola epidemic was over after overwhelming the health care systems in three West African nations of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, infecting more than 28,500 people and killing more than 11,300 people. At its height, Ebola marauded neighborhood after neighborhood in the three West African nations, left a devastating trail in its wake, and exposed the loopholes and severe shortcomings of international agencies to tackle a crisis of this magnitude. Addressing the reporters at the organization's headquarters in Geneva, WHO Director-General Margaret Chan called the wiping out the initial strain of epidemic a "monumental achievement", and cautioned against complacency.
Ebola Returns a Day after WHO Announces Epidemic's End
A day after WHO Director-General Margaret Chan announced that the Ebola epidemic that had erupted in early 2014 had ended with the lapse of 42-day incubation period without any new case in Liberia, authorities in Sierra Leone said on January 15, 2016 that a dead body of a 22-year-old woman from the northern part of the country had tested positive for Ebola. This case didn't have its roots in the original trail of the epidemic that had erupted in early 2014 in Guinea.
Two New Cases of Ebola Reported in Guinea
Nearly two-and-half months after World Health Organization's December 29, 2015, declaration of Guinea to be Ebola-free, Guinean administration on March 17, 2016 reported that two deaths from the same family in the town of Koropara, in N'Zerekore prefecture, about 620 miles southeast of Conakry were due to Ebola virus.
WHO Ends International Emergency for Ebola
World Health Organization on March 29, 2016 ended the state of international emergency for Ebola.
Latest Ebola Outbreak in Guinea Over
After the latest outbreak of Ebola in Guinea reported on March 17, 2016, the WHO on June 1, 2016 announced the crisis over, setting off a 90-day surveillance period.
SECOND-WORST EBOLA OUTBREAK
Ebola Spreads to a Major Population Center in Congo
The Associated Press on December 7, 2018 reported that Ebola had now struck a major city in eastern Congo, Butembo, a city of more than 1 million residents, and aid workers were facing violence in the conflict-ridden city. On August 1, 2018, WHO had declared the spread of Ebola in Congo as a major outbreak and it had become the second-worst after 2014 Ebola pandemic that ravaged West Africa that had killed 11,300 people. The current outbreak in Congo had infected 471 people, out of whom 423 had been confirmed positively. 225 out of 423 had died. However, this time the medical and healthcare workers are better equipped to fight Ebola as they are carrying out so called "ring vaccination" to inoculate victims and their contacts with an experimental vaccine that Merck had unveiled. Without the experimental vaccine, Ebola might have infected about 10,000 people.
Congo Death Toll from Ebola Rises more than 1,000
The second-worst Ebola epidemic has already crossed a tragic milestone with four-digit casualty number. On May 3, 2019, Congolese Health Minister Oly Ilunga said that with the four deaths in the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak, Katwa, in eastern Congo, death toll now stood at 1,008. The mitigation effort became almost impossible in parts of Eastern Congo as violent masses continued attacking health workers and Ebola treatment facilities. One Cameroonian epidemiologist working for WHO was killed last month in one such attack at a hospital in Butembo, a city in the heart of epicenter. The 2014-16 outbreak in West Africa was the worst as the deadly disease in that cycle claimed more than 11,000 lives.
Death Toll from Ebola in Congo Crosses 2,000
In a remarkable speed and alarming increase in number of cases identified, Congo has crossed a milestone that nobody wants to hope and emulate. The Associated Press on June 4, 2019 reported that the epidemic that had ravaged Eastern Congo now took 2,000 lives and growing.
Ebola in Congo Declared an International Emergency
Three days after Congolese authorities made public on July 14, 2019 that an Ebola case had been detected in Goma, a city of 2 million people, it was all but certain that WHO would declare the second-worst epidemic of Ebola as an international emergency. On July 17, 2019, World Health Organization announced the epidemic as an international emergency at a meeting in Geneva. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom has assured the world that although the risk of Ebola in and around Congo is high, its spread beyond the continent has a low likelihood. Doctors Without Borders President Dr. Joanne Liu hoped that the July 17, 2019, "international emergency" declaration would infuse additional money in the fight against the epidemic.
WHO Seeks Three Times Ebola Funding
World Health Organization on July 23, 2019 sought $324 million in international fund to fight against Ebola in Congo for the next six months. The request is on the top of $114 million provided since August 2018.
Congo's Former Health Minister Arrested
Congo's former health minister, Oly Ilunga was taken into custody, according to a September 14, 2019, police statement. Ilunga resigned from the cabinet in July 2019 after President Felix Tshisekedi had decided to take over the fight against Ebola in eastern Congo onto his own hands.
Ebola Epidemic Declared in Guinea
Guinean authorities on February 15, 2021 announced the Ebola outbreak in the country as an epidemic after an emergency meeting a night before, triggering the emergency preparedness and healthcare urgencies deployed immediately. The cases were first reported in N'Zerekore in southern Guinea. At least three were reported killed and, in addition, four were reported to have been infected. Sierra Leone activated its emergency response system and tightened the surveillance at already-a-closed border with Guinea. Sierra Leone's President Julius Maada Bio flew to Conakry to have an emergency discussion with his Guinean counterpart Alpha Conde. Another West African nation, Liberia, took steps as per mandated by President George Weah to "heighten the country's epi-surveillance and preventative activities". The deadliest Ebola outbreak (2014-2016) also did start in Guinea and three West African nations--Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone--accounted for most of the more than 11,300 deaths during the cycle of deadliest outbreak. Last month, World Health Organization announced that it was creating an inventory of 500,000 doses of Ebola vaccines to stamp out the virus, but at the time of issuance of that statement, there were only 7,000 vaccines, manufactured by Merck, in the stockpile. Doctors Without Borders also announced that it was sending medical professionals to Guinea.
