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How many cases and deaths were reported during the 2014–16 Ebola outbreak?
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Ebola
Numerous filamentous ebolavirus particles (blue) budding from a chronically-infected VERO E6 cell (yellow-green) in this digitally colorized scanning electron micrograph produced by the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
During the 2014–16 Ebola outbreak in western Africa, more than 28,600 cases and 11,300 deaths were documented by January 2016.1
It is important to note that these figures are widely considered to be underreported, and the true impact of the epidemic may have been higher. The estimated case fatality rate for the outbreak ranged from approximately 50 to 70 percent. The crisis was particularly severe due to the emergence of the virus in regions with fragile health systems, limited workforces, and significant community mistrust, which complicated containment efforts.123