Professor Katharine Van Tassel to speak at AALS annual Meeting on issues of law and policy arising from the Ebola outbreak in West Africa

 The 2014 West African outbreak of the Ebola virus is the most severe epidemic attributed to this pathogen since 1976, when international health officials began keeping records on Ebola.  As of August 2014, the total number of suspected cases has approached 2,000, and the number of suspected deaths has exceeded 1,000.  The World Health Organization has designated the health crisis as one of international concern.  The law has a strong stake in containing this outbreak and preventing future episodes of this kind. Professor Katharine Van Tassel will be speaking on a panel at the upcoming Annual Meeting of the American Association of Law Schools addressing issues of law and policy arising from the Ebola outbreak. Professor Van Tassel is the Director of the Public Health Law & Science Center and Health Law Program at the University of Akron School of Law.