Ebola Outbreak Begs the Question: Are Cities Hazardous to Health?

Author(s)
Stockman, F.
Publication language
English
Pages
2pp
Date published
23 Sep 2014
Publisher
The Boston Globe
Type
Articles
Keywords
Disasters, Epidemics & pandemics, Health, Urban
Countries
Liberia

Until recently, the largest Ebola outbreak killed 425, in Uganda. But for the most part, health officials stamped out the virus quickly. In 1976, it took just four months to get rid of Ebola, even though no one even knew what it was. So why is today’s epidemic in Liberia still spreading, six months after the first reported case?

The answer lies in the fact that nearly a third of all Liberians live in Monrovia, the capital city.