The Year That Ebola Virus Took Over West Africa: Missed Opportunities for Prevention

I will always remember 2014 as the year that Ebola virus took over west Africa and thus, much of my time and life. The epicenters of the outbreak in Guinea and Sierra Leone are areas that I have worked in since 1996 on projects to build capacity to combat another viral hemorrhagic disease, Lassa fever, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO), Tulane University, and others. I spent a lot time and made many friends and colleagues in the Forest Region of Guinea and the Kenema District of Sierra Leone, both at the heart of this Ebola outbreak. I have also responded to quite a few Ebola and Marburg virus outbreaks over the years. Therefore, it was natural that, when Ebola hit west Africa, I would get involved. Indeed, since April of 2014, it has pretty much been all Ebola all of the time, with me cycling constantly between my home in Lima, Peru and west Africa, Geneva, and Washington, consulting primarily with the WHO and the US Government.