Ebola Update

This item appears on page 61 of the February 2015 issue.

Despite increased efforts in treatment and prevention, the ebola outbreak in West Africa is ongoing. As of press time, the estimated number of deaths from the virus in West Africa was 8,000, mostly in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, with an estimated 20,000 infected.

The last patient to have the disease in Mali was declared cured on Dec. 16. If no new infections occur for a month, it will become the third country, after Nigeria and Senegal, to become ebola-free after having native cases.

International airports are still conducting ebola screenings on passengers coming from infected countries. Cities in the US where airports are doing screenings are New York (JFK), Newark, Chicago, Atlanta and Washington, DC.