"Ebola threatens everything that makes us human," says Bruce Aylward of the World Health Organization. And when the Ebola epidemic exploded in 2014, it caused a worldwide panic. But humanity can beat Ebola -- and Aylward shows four strategies that show how we are succeeding. The fight against Ebola is not yet won, he says, but it can be.

In 2014, as a newly trained physician, Soka Moses took on one of the toughest jobs in the world: treating highly contagious patients at the height of Liberia's Ebola outbreak. In this intense, emotional talk, he details what he saw on the frontlines of the crisis -- and reveals the challenges and stigma that thousands of survivors still face.

In 2013, an Ebola outbreak began in Guinea. The country had no formal response system and the outbreak became the largest Ebola epidemic in recorded history. Guinea then completely overhauled their response system, and were able to successfully combat another outbreak in 2021. So what does an effective epidemic response look like? George Zaidan ...

Could we anticipate the next big disease outbreak, stopping a virus like Ebola before it ever strikes? In this talk about frontline scientific research, ecologist Daniel Streicker takes us to the Amazon rainforest in Peru where he tracks the movement of vampire bats in order to forecast and prevent rabies outbreaks. By studying these disease pat...

An algorithm diagnosed the 2014 Ebola outbreak nine days before the World Health Organization. This is just one example of potentially game-changing big data applications in healthcare. Monika Blaumueller explores how earlier detection could have a significant impact on containing the next healtcare crisis.

During the peak of the Ebola crisis, the recovery process in Africa was not going according to plan. Failure after sobering failure forced health consultant Shalini Unnikrishnan to recognize that they had approached the crisis from the wrong direction. In this impassioned talk, she urges the response to the next pandemic to be centered on the pe...

In 2014, the world avoided a global outbreak of Ebola, thanks to thousands of selfless health workers -- plus, frankly, some very good luck. In hindsight, we know what we should have done better. So, now's the time, Bill Gates suggests, to put all our good ideas into practice, from scenario planning to vaccine research to health worker training....

Clearing tropical forests isn't just dangerous to the natural world — it's also a threat to human health and wellbeing, says physician Neil Vora. Tracing how environmental devastation led to deadly epidemics like Ebola, he presents three ways deforestation unleashes disease and calls on each of us to help preserve the delicate ecological balance...

Infectious disease expert Adam Kucharski uses mathematical models to help the world understand how diseases like Ebola and Zika spread -- and how they can be controlled. As the threat of COVID-19 continues to rise, he gives us a necessary perspective on its transmission, how governments have responded and what needs to change in order to end the...

After the devastating rebel invasion of Freetown in 1999 and the Ebola epidemic in 2014, Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, mayor of the city, refused to be paralyzed by her frustration with the status quo. Instead, she used her anger as a catalyst for action. In this inspiring talk, she shares how she transformed her city by taking the risks necessary to brin...

What if you were holding life-saving medicine ... but had no way to administer it? Zoom down to the nano level with engineer Kathryn A. Whitehead as she gives a breakdown of the little fatty balls (called lipid nanoparticles) perfectly designed to ferry cutting-edge medicines into your body's cells. Learn how her work is already powering mRNA-ba...

Pardis Sabeti investigates the genomes of microbes, like Ebola and coronavirus, to understand how to slow them.

When Ebola broke out in March 2014, Pardis Sabeti and her team got to work sequencing the virus's genome, learning how it mutated and spread. Sabeti immediately released her research online, so virus trackers and scientists from around the world could join in the urgent fight. In this talk, she shows how open cooperation was key to halting the v...

Consider a bat that is infected with several deadly viruses, including ones that cause rabies, SARS, and Ebola. While this diagnosis would be lethal for other mammals, the winged wonder is totally unfazed, and may even spend the next 30 years living as if this were totally normal— because for bats, it is. So what's protecting bats from these dan...

What can past pandemics teach us how to tackle the current one? Tracing the history of contagions from cholera to Ebola and beyond, science journalist Sonia Shah explains why we're more vulnerable to outbreaks now than ever before, what we can do to minimize the spread of coronavirus and how to prevent future pandemics. (This virtual conversatio...

Dr. James Soka Moses began his fight against Ebola by treating patients, moved on to survivor treatment and studies and now advocates for an enlightened global approach to pandemic prevention and response.

A powerhouse of scientific leadership in Africa, Christian Happi sequences and studies the genomes of infectious diseases like Ebola, HIV and coronavirus.

American journalist and Havana resident Gail Reed spotlights a Cuban medical school that trains doctors from low-income countries who pledge to serve communities like their own.

In 2007, as the world worried about a possible avian flu epidemic, Laurie Garrett, author of "The Coming Plague," gave this powerful talk to a small TED University audience. Her insights from past pandemics are suddenly more relevant than ever.

Richard Preston wrote The Hot Zone, a classic look at the Ebola virus and the scientists who fight it. His wide-ranging curiosity about science and people has led him to cover a dizzying list of topics, with a lapidary attention to detail and an ear for the human voice.

The former President of Liberia, Nobel laureate H.E. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf promotes freedom, peace, justice, women’s empowerment and democratic rule.

It’s Halloween — and the only thing scarier than Ebola this week is Ebola paranoia. Should you panic in bowling alleys? How justified is your fear of hospitals? Are mandatory quarantines even legal in the U.S., anyway? 3 ideas behind the news. Source: "Thomas Eric Duncan and Craig Spencer: Race, nationality and rhetoric of Ebola patients," Slat...

Accepting the 2006 TED Prize, Dr. Larry Brilliant talks about how smallpox was eradicated from the planet, and calls for a new global system that can identify and contain pandemics before they spread.

One of the founders of synthetic biology, bioengineer Jim Collins is passionate about teaching and inspiring young people in the classroom and lab.

In Africa, ebola has already killed hundreds and sickened more than a thousand people so far this year -- and the pandemic continues to spread into new countries. When did the current outbreak begin? Why can't it be stopped? How much should you freak out? 3 ideas behind the week's headlines. Source: “I am Richard Preston, author of “The Hot Zon...

When Dr. Steven Whiteley landed in Monrovia, Liberia, last fall, he wasn't sure what to expect. He knew that he'd be treating Ebola patients, but he wasn't sure what he'd see when he got to the treatment center, the only one in Bong county in the north central region of the country. He hadn't even been trained in any of the medical protocols. Th...

It seems like we wait for a disastrous disease outbreak before we get serious about making a vaccine for it. Seth Berkley lays out the market realities and unbalanced risks behind why we aren't making vaccines for the world's biggest diseases.

Last Mile Health has expanded health-care access to the most remote regions of Liberia. Raj Panjabi, the nonprofit’s founder and winner of the 2017 TED Prize, looks back at how his team handled the Ebola outbreak -- and how it can help them build a healthier future for their country and us all. In December 2013, a 2-year-old boy named Emile die...

Catharine Young describes a visit to Liberia, where Ebola may be contained but the public health story has only just begun. Traveling through the streets of Monrovia, Liberia, I am struck by the city’s contrasts. Bursts of color highlight the fragile shells of businesses and houses. The summer air is soft, but the faces of the local people are ...

Dr. Seth Berkley is an epidemiologist and the CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, a global health organization dedicated to improving access to vaccines in developing countries. When he last spoke at TED, in 2015, Seth showed the audience two experimental vaccines for Ebola -- both of them in active testing at the time, as the world grappled ...