Ebola Outbreak in West Africa Has Killed 337
Posted on June 18, 2014
The ebola outbreak in three West African countries continues and shows no signs of slowing down. A new update from the World Health Organization describes 47 new cases and 14 deaths in three countries, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, during the past week.
Here is the breakdown by country:
- Guinea - 398 cases with 264 deaths
- Sierra Leone - 97 cases with 49 deaths
- Liberia - 33 cases and 24 deaths
This gives a total of 528 cases and 337 deaths. The above case count includes confirmed, suspected and probable cases. The fatality rate is 64% for the total overall outbreak. The ongoing ebola outbreak is the largest in history. The previous largest was the 1976 Zaire outbreak which killed 280 people. There have been serious concerns that it would be difficult to control the ebola virus in this part of the world where there is a very low rate of physicians to people.
Reuters reports that the first cases were recently reported in Liberia's capital Monrovia, which has a population of over 400,000. Reuters also says that many of the people in the northern part of the town are poor and share "rudimentary toilet facilities." There is concern there may already be more victims in the city's northern suburbs.