Ebola epidemic, the worst ever
outbreak of the haemorrhagic fever
which first surfaced in 1976 in what
is now the Democratic Republic of
Congo. According to the latest toll given by
the World Health Organization
(WHO), the epidemic has left 11,300
dead, mainly in the west African
states of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra
Leone, out of almost 29,000 cases. Epidemic starts in Guinea - December 6, 2013: A two-year-old
child dies in southern Guinea and is
later identified as "patient zero". The
virus remains localised until
February 2014, when a careworker
in a neighbouring province dies. - Ebola begins to spread - - On March 31, 2014 two cases are
confirmed by the WHO in Liberia,
while on May 26 Sierra Leone
confirms its first case, to be
followed in late July by Nigeria, in
August by Senegal and in October by Mali. Senegal and Nigeria are
declared free of Ebola in October
2014 while Mali is declared Ebola-
free in January 2015. - May 30, 2014: Ebola is "out of
control", according to the aid group
Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
The three worst-hit countries,
Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia,
declare measures including states of emergency and quarantines. Many
neighbouring nations close their
borders with the affected countries. - A 'public health emergency' - - August 8, 2014: The WHO
declares Ebola a "public health
emergency of international concern".
Four days later it authorises the use
of experimental drugs to fight Ebola
after an ethical debate. That day, a Spanish missionary infected in
Liberia dies in Madrid, the first
European fatality. - Death in the US - - September 30, 2014: A Liberian
man is hospitalised in the US state
of Texas, the first Ebola infection
diagnosed outside Africa. He dies on
October 8. October 6, 2014: A Spanish nurse in
a Madrid hospital becomes the first
person to be infected outside Africa.
She is treated and given the all-clear
on October 19. - Ebola begins a halting retreat - - February 22, 2015: Liberia says it
is lifting nationwide curfews and re-
opening borders, as the epidemic
begins to retreat. - February 26, 2015: The US ends
its military mission in west Africa
where it had deployed 2,800 soldiers
to help in the fight against Ebola,
mainly in Liberia. - May 9, 2015: Liberia is declared
Ebola-free by the WHO after no new
cases were recorded for 42 days. - Surge in Guinea and Sierra Leone - - May 20, 2015: The WHO reports a
spike in new cases in Guinea and in
Sierra Leone. Guinea extends its
health emergency on June 6. - June 12, 2015: Sierra Leone
reimposes a three-week curfew. The
capital Freetown suffers a fresh
outbreak in mid-June. - June 30, 2015: Liberia says Ebola
has returned there too. - Closing in on a vaccine - - July 10, 2015: International donors
pledge $3.4 billion to help stamp out
Ebola. - July 31, 2015: The WHO says that
an Ebola vaccine provided 100-
percent protection in a field trial in
Guinea, suggesting the world is "on
the verge of an effective Ebola
vaccine". - Hardest-hit countries emerge from
the epidemic - - November 7, 2015: Sierra Leone is
declared free of the outbreak by the
WHO. - November 17, 2015: The last
known Ebola case in Guinea, a
three-week-old girl, is declared
recovered from the virus. - December 4, 2015: Liberia
releases from hospital its last two
known Ebola cases.
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