The World Health Organization has declared that an outbreak of Ebola in Central Africa is a public health emergency. Health officials are racing to trace contacts as the count of suspected cases rises.
CNN is tracking the locations of confirmed cases in the outbreak, as well as historical cases and deaths. This page will be updated as further details become available.
While the global risk remains low, WHO has called the outbreak a matter of “international concern.” The United States has issued travel restrictions for certain travelers coming from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and South Sudan. Historically, nearly all Ebola outbreaks, cases and deaths have been concentrated in western and central African nations.
An outbreak last decade was the largest and most devastating in the history of the disease. WHO has warned that the current outbreak could be on track to be among one of the larger ones, given the pacing and increasing of deaths.
WHO officials believe that transmission of the current outbreak could have been going for “months” before it was detected. They’ve said that weak health infrastructure in the rural area where it originated, ethnic conflict in the region and the unusual strain of the virus hampered testing. US foreign aid funding cuts could also have been a factor, aid workers told CNN.
Once the virus enters a community, it spreads quickly between people through direct contact with bodily fluids or contaminated surfaces. Scientists believe that humans first contracted Ebola through the hunting, handling or eating of infected wild animals.
Risks also stem from a local funeral custom that involves mourners touching the deceased, which can lead to infection. Misinformation about the illness and how it spreads can undermine local containment efforts.
