First discovered in 1976, and long regarded as an easily manageable virus affecting isolated rural communities, Ebola rocketed to world prominence in 2014 as a deadly epidemic swept through Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia in West Africa. Thousands of people died as the extraordinarily contagious disease spread rapidly from villages to urban centres. Initial quarantine responses proved often too little and too late, and the medical infrastructure of the affected countries struggled to cope. By August 2014, several months after the start of the outbreak, the WHO declared the epidemic a public health emergency and international aid teams and volunteers began to pour in. But halting the epidemic proved to be hugely challenging, not only in terms of the practicalities of dealing with the sheer numbers of patients carrying the highly infectious virus, but in dealing with social and cultural barriers. The author, Dorothy Crawford, visited Sierra Leone while the epidemic was ongoing and met with those on the frontline in the fight against the virus.-- Source other than Library of Congress.

When disaster strikes - the first Ebola outbreak -- Ebola - the virus and the disease -- \Ebola - the years after Yambuku -- Ebola strikes in West Africa - the catastrophic events of 2014 -- Ebola epidemic - the fight back -- Ebola epidemic - the endgame -- 2014 Ebola epidemic - when, where, and how? -- Preventing Ebola -- Lessons learned.