west african ebola virus epidemic timeline west african ebola virus epidemic timeline this article covers the timeline of the 2014 ebola virus epidemic in west africa and its outbreaks elsewhere. flag icons denote the first announcements of confirmed cases by the respective nation-states, their first deaths, and their first secondary transmissions, as well as relevant sessions and announcements of agencies such as the world health organization (who), the u.s. centers for disease control (cdc), and ngos such as doctors without borders; medical evacuations, visa restrictions, border closures, quarantines, court rulings, and possible cases of zoonosis are also included. west african ebola virus epidemic timelinewest africa ebola outbreak mapduration2013–2016locationwest africa region (initially) timeline main article: west african ebola virus epidemic articles related to thewestern africanebola virus epidemic overview ebola virus disease timeline of the epidemic responses to the epidemic timeline, tables and graphs ebola virus disease treatment research post-ebola virus syndrome ebola vaccine nations with widespread cases guinea liberia sierra leone other affected nations mali nigeria senegal spain united states united kingdom italy other outbreaks list of ebola outbreaks 1976 zaire ebola virus outbreak 2014 dr congo outbreak kivu ebola epidemic list of epidemics and pandemics take note that the date of the first confirmations of the disease or any event in a country may be before or after the date of the events in local time because of the international dateline. december 2013 guinea researchers believe that a 2-year-old boy was the index case of the current ebola virus disease epidemic. he died in december 2013 in the village of meliandou, guéckédou prefecture. his mother, sister, and grandmother then became ill with similar symptoms and also died. although ebola represents a significant public health problem in sub-saharan africa and was documented in tai forest chimpanzees, only one case had been reported in humans in west africa. with this background and in the context of poor public health systems, the early cases were mis-diagnosed as diseases more common to the area. thus ebola virus disease spread for several months before it was recognized as such. in late october 2014, the child was identified as emile ouamouno. a tree was later identified in the area where children were known to play with insect-eating angolan free-tailed bats and hunting and grilling them to eat. contact with these bats, which are well-known ebola reservoirs, may have been the immediate cause of the outbreak, though this remains speculative. march 2014 evolution of the 2014 ebola outbreak in semilog plot guinea on march 18 guinean health officials announce the outbreak of a mysterious hemorrhagic fever "which strikes like lightning." 35 cases are reported, and at least 23 people died. on march 22, guinea confirms the fever as ebola, with 59 possible fatalities. liberia on march 24, two suspected cases in liberia are announced by the liberian ministries of information, culture, tourism, and health. the government had also stated that ebola had 'crossed over into liberia,' but did not confirm the information. médecins sans frontières on march 24, médecins sans frontières / doctors without borders (msf) establish an isolation center in guéckédou prefecture, guinea, the first in west africa to be built expressly for the purpose of halting the epidemic. united nations on march 25, the world health organization (who) released its first report concerning ebola in west africa, wherein it is stated that thirteen guinean cases from four districts of the country were confirmed by the institut pasteur and the centre international de recherche en infectiologie in lyon. mauritania since 26 march, mauritania closed all crossings along the senegal river, the natural border between mauritania and senegal, except for the rosso and diama points of entry. liberia on march 27, the government of liberia revised its statement from march 24 stating that ebola was not present within the country -a later report from the who reversed the country's position a second time. senegal on march 28 senegal closed its border with guinea in an effort to halt the virus from spreading. liberia on march 31 the first cases of evd are confirmed in liberia, in two patients in lofa and nimba counties -they had been the subject of a march 24 press report on evd mentioned previously. the patient in lofa county died on the day of her diagnosis, becoming the first death in liberia. united states on march 31, the centers for disease control and prevention (cdc) sent a five-person team to guinea for the purpose of aiding the guinean ministry of health and the who in containing the outbreak. united nations by the end of march, the who announced that there had been 112 cases and 70 deaths due to ebola overall (including suspected cases.) two confirmed cases originated in liberia, and several suspected cases were reported from sierra leone and liberia. april 2014 mali on april 7, six suspected cases were announced by mali but were later confirmed as not being related to evd. liberia on april 12, new cases were reported in margibi and montserrado counties, raising the total number of counties holding patients with evd to four. guinea on april 30, guinea's ministry of health reported 221 suspected and confirmed cases as well as 146 deaths in guinea alone. of the 221, 26 were health workers. united nations by the end of april, who statistics showed 239 cases and 160 deaths overall. may 2014 guinea on may 12, cases were reported in conakry, the capital of guinea and a city with a population of around two million people. sierra leone on may 26 who reports the first cases and deaths in sierra leone, in kailahun district. they are traced back to the funeral of a widely respected traditional healer from kailahun who had contracted the disease after treating ebola patients from across the border in guinea. united nations by the end of may, who statistics showed 383 cases and 211 deaths overall. june 2014 kenema hospital in kenema, sierra leone sierra leone on june 11, sierra leone closed its borders with liberia and guinea and closed a number of schools around the country. on 30 july, the government began to deploy troops to enforce quarantines. liberia on june 17, liberia reports that evd has reached its capital, monrovia. sierra leone on june 20, the who announces up to 158 cases in sierra leone. in addition to kailahun district, cases were also reported in kenema, kambia, port loko, and western area rural districts. médecins sans frontières on june 21, doctors without borders declares the second wave of the outbreak "totally out of control" and calls for massive resources. united nations by the end of june, who statistics showed 779 cases and 481 deaths overall. july 2014 sierra leone on july 14, the bo district of central sierra leone reports its first case. sierra leone on july 17, the number of evd cases in sierra leone surpasses those of liberia and guinea at 442. united nations on july 18 who regards the disease trend in sierra leone and liberia as "serious" with 67 new cases and 19 deaths reported to date. nigeria on july 25 nigeria reports its first fatality, a liberian-american man who died in lagos. sierra leone on july 25, the first case in freetown, sierra leone's capital, is recorded. the city has a population of over one million people. liberia on july 27, liberian president ellen johnson sirleaf declared the country's borders to be closed; some exceptions such as roberts international airport remain open with the addition of screening centers there. sirleaf also announced that football events were to be banned, schools and universities closed, and the worst-affected areas of liberia to be placed under quarantine. sierra leone on july 29 dr. sheik umar khan, who was leading sierra leone's fight against the epidemic, dies of the virus, the first health worker to succumb. liberia on july 30 liberia shuts schools and orders the quarantining of the worst-affected communities, employing its military. sierra leone on 30 july, the government allowed the deployment of troops to maintain quarantines in the country. united states on july 31 the peace corps withdraws all volunteers from liberia, sierra leone and guinea, citing ebola risks. united nations by the end of july, who statistics showed 1,603 cases and 887 deaths overall. august 2014 united states on august 2 an american missionary aid worker infected with evd in liberia, dr. kent brantly, is medically evacuated to atlanta, georgia for treatment at emory university hospital. un on august 4 the world bank announces up to $200 million in emergency assistance for liberia, sierra leone and guinea. united states on august 5 a second infected american missionary, nancy writebol, is medically evacuated to emory university hospital. liberia on august 6, president sirleaf announced that a state of emergency was to be enforced in liberia, remarking that "certain rights and privileges" would be sacrificed in doing so. un on august 7 who declares the evd epidemic a public health emergency of international concern (pheic). ivory coast on august 11 the ivory coast began banning flights from neighboring liberia. un on august 12 who announces that the death toll has risen above 1,000, and approves the usage of unproven drugs and vaccines. spain on august 12 brother miguel pajares, a catholic priest who had been medically evacuated from liberia where he had been volunteering, dies at hospital carlos iii in madrid. un on august 14 who announces that the reports of evd deaths and cases from the field "vastly underestimate" the scale of the outbreak. médecins sans frontières on august 15 doctors without borders compares the evd epidemic to "wartime," and estimates that it will take approximately six months to bring under control. liberia on august 19, the west point neighborhood of monrovia is entirely cordoned off in an effort to halt the spread of evd in one of the country's worst-affected areas. liberia on august 20 liberian troops in monrovia fired tear gas and live rounds at citizens attempting to break out of the quarantine of west point, monrovia; one adolescent dies of gunshot wounds. united states on august 21 the two first medically evacuated cases in the us (missionaries nancy writebol and kent brantly), having been successfully treated with the experimental therapy zmapp, are released from emory university hospital free of the virus. kent brantly's a+ type blood was later used to treat three other cases in the united states: these included the third and fifth medically evacuated cases rick sacra and ashoka mukpo as well as the second transmitted case nina pham. ivory coast on august 21, the ivory coast closed its borders with both guinea and liberia. this action was preceded by a ban on flights between the ivory coast and liberia. democratic republic of congo on august 24 the drc announces an evd outbreak in its northern equateur province of a distinct strain from that of the larger west african outbreak. united kingdom on august 24 a british man (william pooley) was evacuated from sierra leone to an isolation unit at the royal free hospital. germany on august 27, a senegalese epidemiologist who was working in sierra leone for the who was transferred to an isolation ward in hamburg, marking the first medically evacuated case in germany. un on august 28 who announces that the death toll has climbed above 1,550, and warns that the outbreak could infect more than 20,000 people. it also announces that $490 million shall be needed over the next six months. us also on august 28 the journal science publishes the seminal paper genomic surveillance elucidates ebola virus origin and transmission during the 2014 outbreak, five of whose co-authors themselves died of evd before publication. senegal on august 29 senegal confirmed its first evd case, in a guinean citizen who was travelling to dakar. un on august 30 the world food program announces that it needs $70 million to feed 1.3 million people at risk in ebola-quarantined areas. liberia on august 30, the quarantine of the neighborhood of west point, monrovia is lifted after riots on august 20. liberia on august 31 liberia began denying sailors from entering or disembarking from vessels at the country's four main seaports. united nations by the end of august, who statistics showed 3,707 cases and 1,808 deaths overall. september 2014 who training