Ebola is spread through close physical contact with infected people in West African countries practices around religion and death involve close physical contact. All previous outbreaks of Ebola occurred in places where the disease was already known. In Uganda and the DR Congo for example the education message about avoiding contact has had years to enter the collective consciousness. In West Africa there has not been time for the necessary cultural shift where hugging is part of religious worship. Also The Wellbeing Foundation Africa said the outbreak in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone is no surprise. They have the worst doctor-patient ratios in West Africa. (Liberia at 86,275-to-1 and Sierra Leone 45,588-to-1) This deadly pandemic should serve as a wake-up call to all in global health and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and national governments and aid agencies. ‘Weak health systems threaten the global community, including the developed world.’ See: