The outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus currently sweeping through parts of west Africa has so far killed an estimated 673 people. As of 23 July there had been a total of 1,202 confirmed, probable or suspected infections

The Ebola outbreak in west Africa

Guinea: 427 cases, 319 deaths



The first recorded case in the current outbreak of the Ebola virus was in February this year in Guinea. On 25 March, the Ministry of Health of Guinea reported that southeastern districts were affected with an outbreak of “Ebola hemorrhagic fever”. In late May the disease had spread to Guinea’s capital Conakry, a city with around two million inhabitants. The lack of water and sanitation in the city made it very hard to contain the spread of the disease. The latest World Health Organisation update confirmed 311 cases with 208 dead in the country. There are another 99 probably cases that all resulted in death and 17 more suspected cases, 12 of them deaths.



Liberia: 249 cases, 129 deaths

Ebola was reported in the Lofa and Nimba counties of Liberia in late March and by mid-April possible cases had been recorded in Margibi and Montserrado County. In the latest WHO update, 84 were confirmed infected and of those 60 had died. A further 165 probable or suspected cases were reported with 69 of those deaths. Liberian doctor, Samuel Brisbane, who had been treating people with the disease, was confirmed to have died from ebola on 27 July. Two US aid workers for the christian humanitarian aid group Samaritan’s Purse were also reported to be infected.

Sierra Leone: 525 cases, 224 deaths



Sheik Umar Khan. Photograph: Reuters

The first cases in Sierra Leone were reported on 25 May in Kailahun District. The outbreak spread rapidly and by 17 July the number of suspected cases reached 442, overtaking the number in Guinea and Liberia. The first case in Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown was recorded in late July and the current WHO estimates are that of 525 confirmed, probable or suspected cases, 224 people have died. On 29 July the leading Ebola doctor Sheik Umar Khan also died of the disease.

Nigeria: one case, one death

On 20 July, Liberian civil servant Patrick Sawyer arrived in Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city, by air and was hospitalised before dying of Ebola. There are fears that the disease might have spread to Togo, where his flight stopped over.