Ebola continues to spread in West Africa. Health workers predict the outbreak will continue for at least another six months meaning it will, undoubtedly, be the deadliest outbreak on record. Here are 15 numbers that help put it in perspective.
1,350
Number of people killed in the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa, as of 20 August
280
Number of people killed in the previous most deadly outbreak, which was the first one, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1976
1,590
Total number of people killed in all previous Ebola outbreaks in DR Congo, Gabon, Sudan and Uganda, 1976-2012
This current outbreak is approaching the point where it will have killed more people than all previous Ebola outbreaks combined.
55%
The mortality rate in this outbreak: 1,350 deaths out of 2,473 cases
90%
Highest recorded mortality rate in any Ebola outbreak affecting more than a single individual, recorded in DR Congo in 2003 when 128 people died out of 143 cases
1,123
Number of people who have contracted Ebola and survived in this current outbreak
170
Number of health workers infected with Ebola during the current outbreak, of whom at least 81 have died
55-75%
Estimated percentage of the dead who are female in the current outbreak
It is thought that women’s positions as caregivers — both in the health professions and in the home, and in particular during funeral rites — places them at a disproportionate risk of catching the virus.
50,000
Number of residents forcibly quarantined inside West Point, a congested shantytown in the Liberian capital, Monrovia.
3
Number of white foreigners who have received the experimental drug ZMapp (two Americans and one Spaniard)
3
Number of African health workers who have received the experimental drug ZMapp (two Liberians and one Nigerian)
0
Doses of ZMapp still available worldwide
4
Number of countries, all in West Africa, affected by the current Ebola outbreak: Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria
0
Number of confirmed Ebola cases outside of West Africa (not including people evacuated while suffering from the disease)
1-2
Number of doctors per 100,000 people in affected countries