Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

More from Ebola outbreak: the deadliest in history

Health
Just let Kaci Hickox have a pizzaJust let Kaci Hickox have a pizza
Health

It is literally impossible to imagine how Ebola could be transmitted in this particular scenario, which involves a health worker who has twice tested negative for Ebola and a pizza delivery person who has not recently traveled to West Africa.

By Sarah Kliff
Health
Mali confirms first Ebola case: a 2-year-old girlMali confirms first Ebola case: a 2-year-old girl
Play
Health

The West African country is the sixth to get the virus this year.

By Julia Belluz
Health
9 questions you were too afraid to ask about Ebola9 questions you were too afraid to ask about Ebola
Health

Am I at risk for Ebola? Does Ebola spread through sex? How did this outbreak get so bad? We’ve got you covered.

By Julia Belluz
Health
A complete history of Ebola, in one graphicA complete history of Ebola, in one graphic
Health

The team at Involution Studios has put together an incredible graphic explainer of Ebola, how the disease works why this particular outbreak is so bad.

By Sarah Kliff
Health Care
Watch: Nurse with Ebola posts video from her Dallas hospital roomWatch: Nurse with Ebola posts video from her Dallas hospital room
Health Care

Nina Pham, one of the two Texas’ nurses infected with Ebola, posted a video late Thursday night from her hospital in Dallas

By Sarah Kliff
Health Care
Liberia thinks it needs 84,000 more body bags for the Ebola outbreakLiberia thinks it needs 84,000 more body bags for the Ebola outbreak
Health Care

Data paints a dire picture of a country bracing for an outbreak that only gets worse.

By Sarah Kliff
Health
The Dallas nurse with Ebola received blood from a survivor. Will it save her?The Dallas nurse with Ebola received blood from a survivor. Will it save her?
Health

The World Health Organization has touted convalescent blood as a key treatment, though it’s still unproven.

By Julia Belluz
Health
A health care worker in Dallas tested positive for EbolaA health care worker in Dallas tested positive for Ebola
Health

This would mark the first case of Ebola transmission in the United States.

By Julia Belluz
Health
3 US hospitals stopped Ebola from spreading. Why didn’t Texas?3 US hospitals stopped Ebola from spreading. Why didn’t Texas?
Health

Better training and more experience may have helped America’s biocontamination units successfully prevent the transmission of Ebola.

By Sarah Kliff
Health
The stunning cuts to America’s budget to fight disease outbreaksThe stunning cuts to America’s budget to fight disease outbreaks
Health

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s emergency preparedness budget has fallen about half since 2006.

By Sarah Kliff
Health
The nightmare Ebola scenario that keeps scientists up at nightThe nightmare Ebola scenario that keeps scientists up at night
Health

A global epidemic in these five steps.

By Julia Belluz
Health
There is a simple lesson in this Ebola outbreak, and we need to learn itThere is a simple lesson in this Ebola outbreak, and we need to learn it
Health

The Ebola epidemic is horrible. But it’s more than that: it’s a warning that what comes next could be devastating — unless we learn its lessons now.

By Sarah Kliff
Health
How a Spanish hospital let Ebola spread, in one terrifying paragraphHow a Spanish hospital let Ebola spread, in one terrifying paragraph
Health

A nurse treating Ebola patients told health care workers “I think I have Ebola.” They didn’t listen.

By Sarah Kliff
Health
The first patient diagnosed with Ebola in the US has diedThe first patient diagnosed with Ebola in the US has died
Health

Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian national, died this morning.

By Julia Belluz
Health
What we know about the first Ebola patient diagnosed in the USWhat we know about the first Ebola patient diagnosed in the US
Health

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed the first-ever case of Ebola diagnosed in America.

By Sarah Kliff and Julia Belluz
Health
What it feels like to get EbolaWhat it feels like to get Ebola
Health

Gloria Tumwijuke nearly died from the Ebola virus in a 2012 outbreak in Uganda. Here’s her story.

By Julia Belluz
Health
NBC news freelancer diagnosed with EbolaNBC news freelancer diagnosed with Ebola
Health

An American cameraman who had been hired by the network to cover the epidemic has tested positive for the virus.

By Julia Belluz
Health
Why Ebola is very unlikely to go airborneWhy Ebola is very unlikely to go airborne
Health

Fears that Ebola will mutate and spread through the air are overblown, experts say.

By Brad Plumer
Health
How the US botched its Ebola responseHow the US botched its Ebola response
Health
By Julia Belluz
Public Health
15 charts, maps, and photos that explain the Ebola outbreak15 charts, maps, and photos that explain the Ebola outbreak
Public Health

Quickly understand the worst Ebola outbreak ever

By Joe Posner, Sarah Kliff and 1 more
Health
Ebola is in the US. Here’s how health officials will contain it.Ebola is in the US. Here’s how health officials will contain it.
Health

What experts will do to stop Ebola within our borders.

By Susannah Locke
Health
We have Ebola in the US but Africa remains most at riskWe have Ebola in the US but Africa remains most at risk
Health

Worries about the the worst outbreak in history intensifying within Africa trump concerns about cross-continent spread.

By Julia Belluz
Health
A list of aid groups working on the Ebola crisis — and how to donateA list of aid groups working on the Ebola crisis — and how to donate
Health

You can help stop Ebola. Here’s how.

By Susannah Locke
Health
Map: These are all the countries with confirmed Ebola casesMap: These are all the countries with confirmed Ebola cases
Health

The United States is the seventh country with a Ebola patient diagnosed this year, and the only country outside of Africa with a confirmed case.

By Sarah Kliff
Health Care
Watch: CDC press conference announcing first Ebola diagnosisWatch: CDC press conference announcing first Ebola diagnosis
Health Care

You can watch the CDC’s press conference announcing the first Ebola diagnosis in the United States here.

By Sarah Kliff