Feature Microbes

Year in review: Science faces Ebola epidemic

Spread of deadly virus challenges researchers, public health workers

Ebola virus

BREAKING OUT  The Ebola virus, shown in red in this micrograph, infected more than 17,000 people in 2014. 

NIAID/FLICKR (CC BY 2.0)

By Nathan Seppa

- More than 2 years ago

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West Africa’s 2014 Ebola epidemic demonstrated what can happen when a contagious virus emerges amid a population served by a broken medical system, and where cultural practices, public fears and porous borders fuel the spread of disease.