--- title: WHO Attempts to Dispel Ebola Rumors as Virus Spreads description: The World Health Organization is making a social push to educate the masses about Ebola, but fear and ignorance still help spread the virus. canonical: https://time.com/3181835/ebola-virus-congo-west-africa/ author: Harry Swartout article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-08-26T15:02:38.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T09:51:35.658Z article:section: Health og:title: See How Fear and Ignorance Spread Ebola og:description: The fear and ignorance surrounding the virus are as contagious as Ebola itself. og:url: https://time.com/3181835/ebola-virus-congo-west-africa/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6aee0890c5c87541/6986a0f0e53aba11ab4d4280/454129344.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: A group of young volunteers wear special uniforms sterilize round the house after Baindu Koruma (28) died due to the Ebola virus, in Lango village, Kenema, Sierra Leone on August 25, 2014. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: See How Fear and Ignorance Spread Ebola twitter:description: The fear and ignorance surrounding the virus are as contagious as Ebola itself. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6aee0890c5c87541/6986a0f0e53aba11ab4d4280/454129344.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How Fear and Ignorance is Helping Ebola Spread by [Harry Swartout](https://time.com/author/harry-swartout/) ## Harry Swartout Aug 26, 2014 3:02 PM UTC  A group of young volunteers wear special uniforms sterilize round the house after Baindu Koruma (28) died due to the Ebola virus, in Lango village, Kenema, Sierra Leone on August 25, 2014. A group of young volunteers wear special uniforms sterilize round the house after Baindu Koruma (28) died due to the Ebola virus, in Lango village, Kenema, Sierra Leone on August 25, 2014.Anadolu Agency/Getty Images by [Harry Swartout](https://time.com/author/harry-swartout/) ## Harry Swartout Aug 26, 2014 3:02 PM UTC The Ebola epidemic in West Africa has amassed 2,600 cases and claimed more than 1,400 lives, spreading fear and rumors about the illness around the globe — which may be making things worse. Some overly cautious airlines and shipping companies are stopping service to infected areas, so aid can’t get in to help. Overzealous governments have also imposed city-wide quarantines and closed borders, so patients find it difficult to seek help. The World Health Organization continues to try to educate regional governments and firms about the virus, but until the UN agency can reverse the flow of disinformation, Ebola will continue to spread. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3181835/ebola-virus-congo-west-africa/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3181835/ebola-virus-congo-west-africa/"},"headline":"How Fear and Ignorance is Helping Ebola Spread","datePublished":"2014-08-26T15:02:38.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:51:35.658Z","description":"Overly cautious companies and governments are hindering the flow of help to afflicted regions","url":"https://time.com/3181835/ebola-virus-congo-west-africa/","keywords":["Infectious Disease","ebola"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6aee0890c5c87541/6986a0f0e53aba11ab4d4280/454129344.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Harry Swartout","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/harry-swartout/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6aee0890c5c87541/6986a0f0e53aba11ab4d4280/454129344.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"A group of young volunteers wear special uniforms sterilize round the house after Baindu Koruma (28) died due to the Ebola virus, in Lango village, Kenema, Sierra Leone on August 25, 2014.","caption":"A group of young volunteers wear special uniforms sterilize round the house after Baindu Koruma (28) died due to the Ebola virus, in Lango village, Kenema, Sierra Leone on August 25, 2014.","creditText":"Anadolu Agency/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/infectious-disease/","name":"Infectious Disease"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3181835/ebola-virus-congo-west-africa/","name":"How Fear and Ignorance is Helping Ebola Spread"}}]}] ```