The West African ebola virus disease epidemic 2014-2015: A commissioned review

The first epidemic of Ebola haemorrhagic disease in West Africa is the largest and longest Ebola epidemic till date, where the outbreak notably involved three countries with distant spread to other countries. It has caused significant mortality, with reported case fatality rates of up to 70%. Data and relevant information were extracted from the review of majorly relevant publications/papers about the Ebola epidemic in West Africa and other previous outbreaks of Ebola virus (EBOV). As of 2016, with the epidemic under control, the World Health Organization has warned that flare-ups of the disease are likely to continue for some time as recently occurred in Sierra Leone and the on-going in Guinea. As this may not be the last outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in West Africa, there is a need to focus on diagnostic and research capacity required to curtail EVD with adequate measures for emergency preparedness and policies for innovative treatment strategies.