New York Times: Controlling the Ebola Epidemic
Editorial Board

“On Friday, the World Health Organization formally declared an international public health emergency in response to what its director general, Dr. Margaret Chan, called ‘the largest, most severe, most complex outbreak’ of the deadly Ebola virus ‘in the nearly four-decade history of the disease.’ And what has the world done in those 40 years to defend against the disease? Not much. … [Now] the CDC has elevated its response to the highest possible level and is sending 50 more health care professionals to the area, backed by hundreds more professionals in this country. Sierra Leone, which has the highest number of cases, is planning to deploy hundreds of troops and police officers to enforce isolation measures that its residents have so far ignored, and Liberia, with the second largest number, has declared a 90-day state of emergency that allows it to suspend civil liberties and impose quarantines. Nigeria has also declared a state of emergency. Such public health measures should ultimately, although perhaps not quickly, bring the outbreaks under control” (8/10).