UPDATE: Ebola Outbreak in West Africa From CDC (September 25, 2014)

The 2014 Ebola outbreak is the largest Ebola outbreak in history and the first Ebola outbreak in West Africa. This outbreak is the first Ebola epidemic the world has ever known —affecting multiple countries in West Africa. A small number of cases in Lagos and Port Harcourt, Nigeria, have been associated with a man from Liberia who traveled to Lagos and died from Ebola, but the virus does not appear to have been widely spread in Nigeria. The case in Senegal is related to a man who traveled there from Guinea.

Although the risk of an Ebola outbreak in the United States is very low, CDC and partners are taking precautions to prevent this from happening. CDC is working with other U.S. government agencies, the World Health Organization (WHO), and other domestic and international partners and has activated its Emergency Operations Center to help coordinate technical assistance and control activities with partners. CDC has also deployed teams of public health experts to West Africa and will continue to send experts to the affected countries.

Outbreak Update

• No confirmed Ebola cases have been reported in the United States.
• New cases have been reported from Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Nigeria and Senegal have not reported any new cases since September 5, 2014, and August 29, 2014, respectively. In Senegal, all contacts have now completed their 21-day follow up, with no further cases of Ebola reported.
• On August 29, 2014, Senegal’s Ministry of Public Health and Social Affairs announced a case of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Senegal. The case is in a man from Guinea who traveled to Senegal.
• The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has reported cases of Ebola. These cases are not related to the ongoing outbreak of Ebola in West Africa. For information on the outbreak in DRC, see the 2014 Ebola Outbreak in DRC page.
• HHS has contracted with Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc. to develop and manufacture ZMapp. Mapp Biopharmaceutical will manufacture a small amount of the drug for early stage clinical safety studies and nonclinical studies.
• NIH will begin initial human testing of an investigational vaccine to prevent EVD in early September and is working with a company to develop an antiviral drug to treat Ebola.
• U.S. Department of Defense has funded two companies that are developing drug therapies for Ebola and is working with another company to develop an Ebola vaccine.
• CDC returned a staff member from West Africa by charter flight after the employee had low-risk contact with an international health worker who recently tested positive for Ebola. The CDC staff member was not sick with Ebola, did not show symptoms of the disease, and therefore posed no risk to friends, family, co-workers, or the public.

Source CDC