--- description: A look at the numbers behind the largest ebola outbreak on record, which has so far killed over 670 people title: Ebola Virus in West Africa: Everything You Need to Know image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt52e14208d00f2b33/69869dc8cd68481709095ddc/ebola-west-africa-2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Infectious Disease](/tag/infectious-disease/) ## Infectious Disease Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Everything You Need to Know About the Deadly Ebola Virus Outbreak  by [Diane Tsai](/author/diane-tsai/)  ## Diane Tsai Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 30, 2014 1:08 PM CUT  Locals watch workers with Doctors Without Borders as they disinfect after leaving a private clinic working to combat the spread of the Ebola virus in Teldou, Guinea, July 10, 2014. Locals watch workers with Doctors Without Borders as they disinfect after leaving a private clinic working to combat the spread of the Ebola virus in Teldou, Guinea, July 10, 2014.Samuel Aranda—The New York Times/Redux  by [Diane Tsai](/author/diane-tsai/)  ## Diane Tsai Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 30, 2014 1:08 PM CUT More than 670 people have died from the latest outbreak of Ebola, a highly contagious virus that is also one of the deadliest human diseases. Though it’s been almost 40 years since Ebola was first discovered in 1976, there are currently no cures or effective treatments. Here’s what you need to know about the [unprecedented outbreak](http://time.com/3049917/new-fears-about-ebola-spread-after-plane-scare/ "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3056038/ebola-virus-outbreak-explained/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3056038/ebola-virus-outbreak-explained/"},"headline":"Everything You Need to Know About the Deadly Ebola Virus Outbreak","datePublished":"2014-07-30T13:08:53.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:24:35.457Z","description":"A look at the numbers behind the largest ebola outbreak on record, which has so far killed over 670 people","url":"https://time.com/3056038/ebola-virus-outbreak-explained/","keywords":["Infectious Disease","Disease","Virus","ebola","outbreak"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt52e14208d00f2b33/69869dc8cd68481709095ddc/ebola-west-africa-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Diane Tsai","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/diane-tsai/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt52e14208d00f2b33/69869dc8cd68481709095ddc/ebola-west-africa-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Locals watch workers with Doctors Without Borders as they disinfect after leaving a private clinic working to combat the spread of the Ebola virus in Teldou, Guinea, July 10, 2014.","caption":"Locals watch workers with Doctors Without Borders as they disinfect after leaving a private clinic working to combat the spread of the Ebola virus in Teldou, Guinea, July 10, 2014.","creditText":"Samuel Aranda—The New York Times/Redux","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/3056038/ebola-virus-outbreak-explained/","name":"Everything You Need to Know About the Deadly Ebola Virus Outbreak"}}]}] ```