deaths. Last month the WHO estimated that we could see 20,000 people infected before

this is all over. In a worst-case scenario, according to an estimate by the CDC, 1.4 million

people in Liberia and Sierra Leone alone could end up with the disease. So, how did we get

here and why is this outbreak so hard to contain?

Well, it doesn’t actually have that much to do with the disease itself. Yes, Ebola

is contagious. And Yes, there is no cure, but that has always been the case with Ebola,

and other outbreaks haven’t been nearly this widespread…. Because other outbreaks

haven’t happened in this part of West Africa.

Stopping Ebola is all about containing it. There is no cure, but the disease runs its

course relatively quickly. So, if you can identify the infected and maintain a well-resourced

medical quarantine, you can get the outbreak under control. A plan that works in places

like Uganda, which has a history with ebola, an informed public, and a medical system capable

of identifying and quarantining the disease. Uganda had an outbreak in 2012 that only infected

24 people and it ran its course in less than 4 months.

West Africa doesn’t have any of these advantages. It is an extremely poor part of the world,

with a high illiteracy rate, and poor medical resources. According to some reports, they

spend less than $100 per year per citizen on health. As such, informing the general

public about the disease is difficult and equipping the medical community to fight it

has been almost impossible. Something as basic as rubber gloves isn’t a guarantee in many

medical facilities.

To make matters worse there is an extremely active rumor mill in West Africa spreading

harmful misinformation about the disease and distrust of Aid workers. Some West African

communities think that Ebola can be cured Homeopathically, by using hot water and salt,

or by ingesting hot chocolate. Other West Africans believe that Ebola is a Government

trick to get more Western Aid. Still others think that Western health workers are intentionally

spreading the disease. And some communities are actively preventing western intervention.

In one tragic incident in Guinea, 8 aid workers distributing health information were killed

by panicked locals.

The situation is bad and the CDC’s worst case scenario is alarming. But that scenario

is based on there being no further aid or intervention to contain ebola in West Africa.

Which isn’t the case: the international community is already getting involved, and

some headway is being made. To find out what exactly they are doing, please subscribe now

we will be releasing part to of this story tomorrow. Subscribing is the best way to make

sure that you see that.