An outbreak of Ebola hit Liberia in May 2014. By the end of August the disease is estimated to have killed nearly 700 people in Liberia, and there were nearly 1,400 suspected and confirmed cases of it in the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The outbreak was particularly bad in parts of Monrovia, and the government quarantined the crowded, poor West Point neighborhood, which was hard hit. Residents protested the quarantine and clashed with police. In late August, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak an international emergency. It is the worst outbreak since the virus was first identified almost 40 years ago.
See also Encyclopedia: Liberia .
U.S. State Dept. Country Notes: Liberia