The most severe Ebola outbreak of our time began in Guinea in March and has since spread to multiple West African countries. As of Oct. 2, more than 6,500 probable, confirmed and suspected cases have been reported, and more than 3,000 patients have died. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), for every one reported case of Ebola, there are an additional 1.5 that go unlisted. If these trends continue, the CDC estimates that cases in two countries alone – Liberia and Sierra Leone – could reach 1.4 million within four months.
On Sept. 30, the CDC confirmed the first diagnosis of Ebola in the United States. Eric Duncan, 42, began exhibiting symptoms of the disease on Sept. 24, four days after returning to the United States from Africa. On Oct. 8, Eric Duncan died from the disease.
On Sunday, health officials confirmed that a nurse at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas tested positive for Ebola after caring for Duncan. The case marks the first person-to-person transmission of Ebola in the U.S.
Have you been following MSNBC’s coverage of the epidemic? Show us how much you know about the current Ebola outbreak.
Sources:
All In with Chris Hayes: Fact-checking the Ebola rumor mill
All In with Chris Hayes: Here’s why you shouldn’t panic over Ebola
The Cycle: Could there be an Ebola outbreak in America?
Did it spread? What we know about the Texas Ebola patient Health officials looking at possible contacts of Ebola victim
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