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by msane 4294 days ago
You are right, it is a bit sensationalized. The 1.4M-by-Jan projection from the CDC is the highest currently and also seems to be the least official. CDC has stated this as a "worst case" scenario with no intervention. It's hard to find the source material from CDC but it has been parroted since last week. I think it may have been a remark from a CDC scientist but not an official release. It's worth considering other estimates

- WHO says 21,000 by mid January

- NEJM says ~10,000 by mid January http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1411100?query=fea...

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The article links to the CDC report: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/su63e0923a1.htm?s_c...

The CDC report and the article present both worst-case and best-case scenarios for Liberia and Sierra Leone. 1.4M is worst-case (no intervention) and "almost ended" is best-case ("If, by late December 2014, approximately 70% of patients were placed either in ETUs or home or in a community setting such that there is a reduced risk for disease transmission [...] then the epidemic in both countries would almost be ended by January 20, 2015").