News outlets report on the worsening Ebola outbreak in West Africa, which has killed at least 660 people and infected more than 1,000.

Agence France-Presse: West Africa Ebola death toll reaches 660: WHO
“The death toll in West Africa’s Ebola outbreak has risen to 660, with the number of cases surpassing 1,000, the World Health Organization said Friday…” (7/25).

Agence France-Presse: U.S. monitoring Ebola outbreak, aiding bid to stop spread
“U.S. officials are closely monitoring the outbreak of deadly Ebola virus which has now reached Nigeria, and is working with governments and aid groups to try to stop the spread…” (7/26).

Agence France-Presse: Two Americans, Freetown resident latest Ebola victims
“Alarm soared in West Africa Monday over the deadliest Ebola virus outbreak yet, with an American doctor and a missionary contracting the disease in Liberia and the death of the first victim from Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown…” (Sylla, 7/28).

Associated Press: Ebola kills Liberian doctor, 2 Americans infected
“One of Liberia’s most high-profile doctors has died of Ebola, officials said Sunday, and an American physician was being treated for the deadly virus, highlighting the risks facing health workers trying to combat an outbreak that has killed more than 670 people in West Africa — the largest ever recorded…” (Paye-Layleh, 7/27).

Reuters: U.S. doctor contracts Ebola in Liberia
“A 33-year-old American doctor working for a relief organization in Liberia’s capital has tested positive for the tropical disease Ebola, according to a statement from Samaritan’s Purse…” (Farge, 7/26).

ABC News: American Doctor With Ebola Described as ‘Meticulous,’ ‘Strong Individual’
“Dr. Kent Brantly may be fighting a deadly viral infection himself, but that hasn’t stopped him from working to help others. The 33-year-old American doctor, who was treating Ebola patients, was reported to be sitting up in his isolated hospital bed and working on his computer after he contracted the deadly virus this week…” (Mohney, 7/27).

Reuters: Nigeria government confirms Ebola case in megacity of Lagos
“A Liberian man who died in Nigeria’s commercial capital Lagos on Friday tested positive for the deadly Ebola virus, Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu said…” (Onuah/Miles, 7/25).

Agence France-Presse: Nigeria on red alert after first Ebola death
“Nigeria was on alert against the possible spread of Ebola on Saturday, a day after the first confirmed death from the virus in Lagos, Africa’s biggest city and the country’s financial capital…” (Awoniyi, 7/26).

Associated Press: Nigeria death shows Ebola can spread by air travel
“Nigerian health authorities raced to stop the spread of Ebola on Saturday after a man sick with one of the world’s deadliest diseases brought it by plane to Lagos, Africa’s largest city with 21 million people…” (Murdock, 7/26).

Reuters: Liberia shuts border crossings, restricts gatherings to curb Ebola spreading
“The Liberian government on Sunday closed most of the West African nation’s border crossings and introduced stringent health measures to curb the spread of the deadly Ebola virus that has killed at least 660 people across the region…” (MacDougall/Felix, 7/27).

Reuters: Sierra Leone Ebola patient, recovered from family, dies in ambulance
“A Sierra Leone Ebola patient whose family sparked a nationwide hunt when they forcefully removed her from a treatment center and took her to a traditional healer, died in an ambulance on the way to [the] hospital, a health official said…” (Fofana, 7/27).

Reuters: Ebola center in Sierra Leona under guard after protest march
“Police were guarding an Ebola treatment center in Sierra Leone on Saturday, the day after thousands marched on the clinic following allegations by a former nurse [that] the deadly virus was invented to conceal ‘cannibalistic rituals’ there, a regional police chief said…” (Fofana, 7/26).

Al Jazeera: Liberian man sets health ministry on fire over Ebola handling
“A Liberian man walked into the country’s health ministry offices Wednesday and set the second floor wing on fire after reportedly losing a family member to the Ebola virus…” (7/24).

CNN: Ebola outbreak: Is it time to test experimental vaccines?
“Ebola virus disease is sweeping across West Africa in the largest outbreak of the virus to date. Mortality rates are currently at 60 percent in a disease where up to 90 percent of infected people can die. But despite this lethality there remain no licensed treatments or vaccines available, nearly 40 years after the disease was first discovered…” (Senthilingam, 7/25).

Financial Times: Ebola outbreak poses threat to African economies
“…This is the first big outbreak in West Africa and the region has no experience in dealing with the disease and is ill equipped to combat it…” (Ward/Blas, 7/25).