Ebola outbreak: Six surprising numbers

  • Published
A health worker on a phone in Uganda (Archive shot)Image source, AFP

5,060

mobile phones needed

The medical teams now being sent to the affected countries need mobile phones to pass on vital information about how the disease is spreading, especially in remote areas.

Figure from Ocha

line
Medical workers disinfect each other's suits in LiberiaImage source, AP

1 in 50

Liberian health workers infected

Ebola is transmitted through patients' body fluids, leaving health workers particularly vulnerable to the disease. Where medics have lacked adequate protection, their rate of infection has been higher.

Figure from Ocha

line
A treatment centre set up to receive Ebola patients in Ivory CoastImage source, AFP

$61.48

cost of a full protective suit

The suit must be worn by medical personnel to protect against infection. It includes a protective mask, goggles, apron, gloves and rubber boots.

Figure from Medecins Sans Frontieres

line
Free condoms being distributed in Kenya (Archive)Image source, AFP

90 days

without sex for survivors of Ebola

The Ebola virus can remain present in semen for a long time. Experts say it is best for men who are recovering from the disease to avoid sex altogether - or make sure they use a condom - for 90 days.

Figure from Peter Piot, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who discovered Ebola in 1976

line
Liberian health worker carries a baby suspected of having contracted Ebola from his family membersImage source, Getty Images

1.7

people infected by each Ebola sufferer in Liberia

The figure of 1.7 means that, on average, every 10 people infected with Ebola in Liberia will have passed the disease on to 17 others. This figure is known as a basic reproduction number. It is used to measure the rate at which an epidemic spreads through a susceptible population. The number fluctuates as scientists keep monitoring new cases.

By comparison, measles - a highly contagious disease - can have a reproduction number of between 12 and 17.

Figure from European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control

line
Medical team removes body of Ebola victim in LiberiaImage source, EPA

19,980

burial kits needed

The bodies of Ebola victims remain infectious after death. Safe burials are key to checking the spread of the disease.

Figure from UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha)