--- title: CDC Director Tom Frieden: Ebola 'Worse Than I'd Feared' description: Dr. Tom Frieden told CNN the Ebola outbreak is "much bigger" than anyone anticipated canonical: https://time.com/3198366/cdc-director-ebola-is-worse-than-id-feared/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-08-27T23:45:27.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:00:48.965Z article:section: Health og:title: CDC Director Tom Frieden: Ebola 'Worse Than I'd Feared' og:description: Dr. Tom Frieden told CNN the Ebola outbreak is "much bigger" than anyone anticipated og:url: https://time.com/3198366/cdc-director-ebola-is-worse-than-id-feared/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt60a38db48dc4f8eb/6986a132e8524b017160475e/tom_frieden.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Director of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Tom Frieden testifies during a hearing before the Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Aug. 7, 2014 in Was og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: CDC Director Tom Frieden: Ebola 'Worse Than I'd Feared' twitter:description: Dr. Tom Frieden told CNN the Ebola outbreak is "much bigger" than anyone anticipated twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt60a38db48dc4f8eb/6986a132e8524b017160475e/tom_frieden.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # CDC Director: Ebola Is 'Worse Than I'd Feared' ## Video: Fear and Ignorance Spread Ebola [Watch (HLS stream): Fear and Ignorance Spread Ebola](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/KlA2XSgt.m3u8) (1:52)  _Published 2014-08-26. While the Ebola virus remains contained to West Africa, deadly fear and ignorance about the illness have spread worldwide._ by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Aug 27, 2014 11:45 PM UTC  Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, testifies during a hearing before the Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Aug. 7, 2014 in Washington, D.C. Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, testifies during a hearing before the Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Aug. 7, 2014 in Washington, D.C.Alex Wong—Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Aug 27, 2014 11:45 PM UTC In an interview with [CNN](http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/27/health/ebola-outbreak/index.html?hpt=hp%5Ft1) on Wednesday, the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Tom Frieden, said the Ebola outbreak in West Africa is a “much bigger problem than anyone anticipated.” “It’s even worse than I’d feared,” Frieden said in an interview with [CNN](http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/27/health/ebola-outbreak/index.html?hpt=hp%5Ft1) in Liberia. Liberia is one of several West African countries at the epicenter of the world’s largest outbreak in history of the deadly virus. Over 1,400 people have died in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The virus has also spread to Nigeria, where the outbreak has killed five people and prompted the shuttering of [public schools](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-28950347) until October. But Frieden says hope is not lost; Ebola [can be stopped](http://time.com/3154277/ebola-virus-health-africa/). “We can stop Ebola,” he said Wednesday, noting that the virus is spread through contact with body fluids, which has often come as a result of caring for the sick and during burial after the infected have perished. “We need to work together to care for people so that they can get the support they need without spreading in communities.” He added, “The sooner the world comes together to help Liberia and West Africans, the safer we will all be.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3198366/cdc-director-ebola-is-worse-than-id-feared/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3198366/cdc-director-ebola-is-worse-than-id-feared/"},"headline":"CDC Director: Ebola Is 'Worse Than I'd Feared'","datePublished":"2014-08-27T23:45:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:00:48.965Z","description":"Dr. Tom Frieden told CNN the Ebola outbreak is \"much bigger\" than anyone anticipated","url":"https://time.com/3198366/cdc-director-ebola-is-worse-than-id-feared/","keywords":["ebola","CDC","Infectious Disease","Virus","Ebola outbreak"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt60a38db48dc4f8eb/6986a132e8524b017160475e/tom_frieden.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt60a38db48dc4f8eb/6986a132e8524b017160475e/tom_frieden.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Director of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Tom Frieden testifies during a hearing before the Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Aug. 7, 2014 in Was","caption":"Director of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Tom Frieden testifies during a hearing before the Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Aug. 7, 2014 in Was","creditText":"Alex Wong—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/ebola/","name":"ebola"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3198366/cdc-director-ebola-is-worse-than-id-feared/","name":"CDC Director: Ebola Is 'Worse Than I'd Feared'"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Fear and Ignorance Spread Ebola","description":"While the Ebola virus remains contained to West Africa, deadly fear and ignorance about the illness have spread worldwide.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/KlA2XSgt/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-08-26T14:04:40.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/KlA2XSgt.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3198366/cdc-director-ebola-is-worse-than-id-feared/","duration":"PT1M52S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3198366/cdc-director-ebola-is-worse-than-id-feared/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```