Will COVID‐19 be a litmus test for post‐Ebola sub‐Saharan Africa?

Abstract

In 2014, the worst outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) emerged in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA) causing fear and panic. The outbreak which started in Guinea quickly moved across to Sierra Leone and Liberia. With an average EVD case fatality rate of around 50% (range: 25%‐90%), there were many casualties, and the number of recorded deaths exceeded 11 300 by June 2016.1 Activities in the affected countries were severely disrupted, with the social and economic burden estimated at US $53.2 billion, the most significant component being attributed to deaths from non‐Ebola causes