Ebola Dragnet Has Lots of Holes

December 23, 2014

(Scientific American) – Inside the bustling Ebola “Command Center” in Sierra Leone’s capital, it appears that the disease outbreak might finally be brought under control. Staff register alerts that stream in from a call center, and they dispatch surveillance officers located in each neighborhood, who decide whether an ambulance is warranted. However, a day spent with the surveillance officers—medical school students hired by the government for this response—reveals how messy the roundup can get in practice.