Yesterday we’re reported how the WHO declared that the present Ebola outbreak has killed more people than all the Ebola outbreaks combined and now we’ve got the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) making its predictions about the Ebola situation in West Africa and the numbers are not good. The CDC predict that Ebola cases could exceed half a million (550,000 more exactly) by January of 2015.
The US CDC has made public their latest report and they are urging for interventions to take place, otherwise the cost of delay will be devastating. The CDC has predicted that if the current trends are going to continue without any drastic measures being implemented, then the number of Ebola cases could exceed half a million by January 2015 in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
The CDC has made its estimate based on the reported cases, but they’ve also taken into account the one that aren’t reporting and based on those unofficial numbers (also an estimate), then the cases are likely to reach 1.4 million Ebola cases. Many people in the West African countries do not believe that Ebola is a real threat and choose not to go to the hospital when sick.
Naturally, the CDC is aware of the fact that no guarantee can be offered along these numbers, but they do say that:
If conditions remain unchanged, the situation will rapidly become much worse, [and they serve as] a warning and a call to action.
All these numbers and calculations done by the CDC are published in their latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). You can visit their website if you want more insight into the matter.
What are your thoughts on the fact that Ebola cases could exceed half a million by January? Do you fear a global Ebola pandemic? Share your thoughts and comments with us in the comment section below. We love hearing from our readers.