“As of September 14, 2014, a total of 4507 confirmed and probable cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD), as well as 2296 deaths from the virus, had been reported from five countries in West Africa — Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sierra Leone.”

(via WHO Ebola Response Team)

Although the Ebola virus epidemic has just been recently been featured on mainstream media, the first known breakout was in 1976 in southern Sudan. The virus has had several outbreaks through the years following; however, the greatest known outbreak to date is the current one that is occuring mainly in Sub-Saharan Africa. The first recorded case of this outbreak occurred December 2013 in Guinea. It wasn’t until August 9, 2014, that the World Health Organization recognized the outbreak as a “public health emergency of international concern.”

The heavily affected areas remain to be Guinea and its neighbors, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Previously, the EBV appeared in isolated communities throughout the region, limiting infection to at most a few hundred people. The current breadth of the disease is attributed to the lack of measures and logistics in order to contain it. The statistics, reported in September, presents that “995 patients with confirmed, probable, or suspected infection were known to need clinical care in the week of September 8 through 14 alone, which far exceeds the present bed capacity in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone (approximately 610 beds in total).” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that there are 13,042 cases of Ebola in West Africa as of November 2 (via CDC). In two months, the number of reported cases has tripled; these numbers do not take for consideration the unreported cases, which is anticipated to be around 30% (via Science Daily).

Guinea’s neighbor, Nigeria, despite having cases in very densely populated areas like Lagos, had been able to contain the spread of Ebola through fast, preventative measures, according to WHO’s September report. While there is no currently known cure, “transmission can be stopped by a combination of early diagnosis, contact tracing, patient isolation and care, infection control, and safe burial” (WHO Ebola Response Team).

Ebola will likely not heavily effect people outside of West Africa. However, that does not mean it is an issue that can be ignored. Almost 5000 people have died from this outbreak, and due to lack of resources in Sub-Saharan Africa, many more are likely to follow (via CDC). Please do what you can and support the various organizations (UNICEF, CDC, etc.) that are working to combat the outbreak. Not all charity organizations are good; make sure your money is going where it is needed.