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Why this Ebola outbreak is so bad, in one graphic

by Julia Belluz
Church members pray as the pastor speaks about the Ebola epidemic in Dolo Town, Liberia.
Church members pray as the pastor speaks about the Ebola epidemic in Dolo Town, Liberia.
Church members pray as the pastor speaks about the Ebola epidemic in Dolo Town, Liberia.
John Moore
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Ebola outbreak: the deadliest in history
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ebola chart redo use

The current Ebola outbreak in West Africa has now killed more people than all previous Ebola outbreaks combined.

The latest World Health Organization data on this year’s Ebola outbreak in West Africa shows 3,069 probable and confirmed cases and 1,552 deaths. The number of cases continues to accelerate, with 40 percent of the total cases occurring in the last 21 days.

The total impact of previous recorded outbreaks — from 1976 to 2013 — included 2,357 cases and 1,548 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The WHO predicts the disease is going to continue to rip through Africa for another six to nine months, though the organization has vowed to stop the outbreak within that time.

There is also a separate Ebola outbreak occurring in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which the WHO says is unrelated to the West African outbreak.

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