Ebola Outbreak Highlights the Need for Wet and Dry Laboratory Collaboration

The recent Ebola outbreak in Western Africa taught us that Ebolaviruses can cause much larger outbreaks and represent a much greater health threat than many of us believed (or wanted to believe). As of 30th March, the outbreak had resulted in 28,646 confirmed cases and 11,323 deaths. Although the WHO stated that the Ebola epidemic in West Africa no longer represents a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, since Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra are now capable of controlling and maintaining further small outbreaks, flare-ups still occur, most recently, on 4th April when two new cases were reported in Liberia (www.who.int).