Ebola Is Spreading: Can It Be Contained?

Almost 700 people have died, and more than a thousand have been infected, in the worst epidemic since the Ebola virus was discovered in 1976. So far, it’s confined to three impoverished West African countries with weak institutions, making its spread political as much as biological. We’ll hear about a horrific disease with no cure, and the widespread fear, not just of Ebola, but also of Western doctors and their unfamiliar procedures. US officials say it can be controlled if it ever gets here, but the epidemic is a massive challenge to the global effort to protect public health.

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Banner Image: Medical staff working with Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) prepare to bring food to patients kept in an isolation area at the MSF Ebola treatment centre in Kailahun July 20, 2014. Sierra Leone now has the highest number of Ebola cases, at 454, surpassing neighboring Guinea where the outbreak originated in February. Picture taken July 20, 2014. REUTERS/Tommy Trenchard