The Wire

There is no doubt that the current West African Ebola epidemic is, as the World Health Organisation described it, “the most severe acute public health emergency seen in modern times.” However, the economic cost of the outbreak is proving to be just as devastating. Farmers and construction workers have abandoned their posts for fear of contracting the virus, and there are fears tourism could drop by 60 percent.

Road blocks manned by the military are preventing the movement of labourers, and a freeze on air transport is isolating the region from trade.