Ebola is rare but deadly, spreading fear and panic. Caring for infected patients and affected communities is crucial for a response to be effective.
Outbreaks can kill 25 to 90 per cent of those infected. Until recently, there were no tools to prevent or treat Ebola; today a preventive vaccine and curative drugs are available. MSF has responded in almost all reported outbreaks over the past years.
The 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic in West Africa was unprecedented: 67 times the size of the largest previously recorded outbreak, it reached urban areas, and killed more than 11,300 people. Hundreds of health workers died, decimating the already-struggling healthcare systems of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.
Since then, the Democratic Republic of Congo has experienced a succession of outbreaks since March 2018.
