Global health and relief groups fighting Ebola in West Africa

Six months into the largest and most complex Ebola outbreak in history, the three hardest-hit countries — Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea — continued to face enormous challenges in stopping transmission and providing care for all patients.

According to September reports from the World Health Organization and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 6,600 cases of Ebola had been found, while the virus had already claimed the lives of at least 3,000 people. Unless the virus was efficiently contained and controlled, health experts predicted those numbers to double every three weeks.

Despite these alarming figures, international efforts to curtail the outbreak were still largely inadequate to control the spread of the virus. In early September, the United Nations warned that the cost of fighting the Ebola epidemic and responding to mounting humanitarian needs had risen to nearly $1 billion since the first case was declared in March.

But providing funds is not enough. Good outbreak control relies on a combination of interventions — such as clinical care, logistical support, proper surveillance, effective community outreach and safe burials.