Ebola Outbreak in West Africa: Data Analysis and Mapping

Introduction and Scope

This report presents business intelligence gathered and analyzed in connection with the Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa. Countries receiving particular focus include Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone. The process involves the location and collection of relevant data, analysis of that data using selected techniques and software, and a presentation of overall results — including a map of the affected region. While the region was certainly not out of danger during the peak of the crisis, the Ebola outbreak in West Africa would appear to have been mostly brought under control by late 2015, although the threat of a further outbreak remained.

Given that travelling to West Africa would be cost-prohibitive and dangerous, this report relies on established and trustworthy sources of data relating to the West Africa Ebola outbreak. Sources are limited to peer-reviewed and other academic journals, retrieved through the academic search engine EBSCOHost and summarized and analyzed within the text of this report. Analysis not completed within the reports themselves was conducted using Excel and other basic mathematical tools, given that the raw figures involved are not especially complex. The integrity of the analysis depends more on method than on the sophistication of the calculations — so long as data collectors counted accurately and used trustworthy sources, the analysis is sound. Both qualitative and quantitative information relevant to the outbreak are included. Some tables and figures are drawn directly from source materials; one chart was created by the author using Microsoft Excel (see Appendix III).

Geographic Overview of the Affected Region

As shown in the appendix map, the countries in question are located along the western coast of Africa, due south of Spain and Portugal. They occupy the southern edge of the large block of land that juts westward from the main north-to-south landmass of the African continent. The three primary countries — Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia — all share borders with one another. Running from northwest to southeast, the order is Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. All three have at least some coastline along the Atlantic Ocean.

Guinea is by far the largest of the three, and Sierra Leone is the smallest. Guinea wraps around most of Sierra Leone and shares borders with both Sierra Leone and Liberia. Additional neighboring countries include Guinea-Bissau, Mali, and Côte d'Ivoire (the Ivory Coast). Beyond those land borders, the region is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean. In terms of global location, the area is fairly distant from other major regions, including Western Europe and the Middle East. The eastern tip of South America — specifically part of Brazil — represents the closest point in the Americas to the western tip of Africa (Google Maps, 2015).