Ebola: fear of a global epidemic
More than 4,400 people have died of Ebola. With the first cases registered in Europe and the US, there is now rising concern that the outbreak could turn into a global pandemic.
Dallas, USA
In Dallas, Texas, two health workers have contracted Ebola while caring for Thomas Duncan, who was flown in from Liberia and later died. The first Ebola case outside West Africa was registered in Spain's capital Madrid, where a health worker caught the virus while caring for an Ebola patient.
Meliandou, Guinea
Ebola broke out last year in the Guinean village of Meliandou. A two-year-old died here on December 6, 2013, possibly the first victim of the current outbreak. The child's sister, mother and grandmother also died of the virus. In March 2014, Guinea's health ministry informed the WHO of the Ebola outbreak.
Monrovia, Liberia
At the moment, the Ebola virus is spreading through large parts of Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia. In the Liberian capital Monrovia, a strike by health care workers has exacerbated the crisis. In Senegal and Nigeria, meanwhile, the virus seems to have been contained.
Geneva, Switzerland
Ebola is transmitted through bodily fluids, especially blood, excrements and vomit. That's why close relatives as well as doctors and health care workers are most at risk. The WHO's experts in Geneva say that protective clothing and disinfectants can prevent infection. Worldwide, however, over 400 medical staff have contracted the virus.
Manila, Philippines
So far, tests have confirmed an Ebola infection in around 4,000 patients. But the WHO estimates that there are twice as many cases out there. At a conference in Manila on Monday, the head of the WHO, Margaret Chan, said "the whole world is potentially at risk." In Asia, there have so far only been strands of Ebola that do not affect humans.
Frankfurt and Leipzig, Germany
In Germany, one Ebola patient flown in from West Africa to Leipzig's St. Georg clinic died on October 14. There is another person being treated in Frankfurt. Health Minister Hermann Gröhe said on Monday that there was "only a very small possibility" of getting infected in Germany.