Guess which candidate has run the most ads mentioning Ebola

TV ads mentioning Ebola aired an average of six times per hour last week in states with some of the tightest races of 2014, according to data from a media tracking firm.

The number of times Ebola is mentioned in TV ads has spiked in the week before the election, with 734 mentions between Oct. 21 and Oct. 25, according to data from Kantar Media CMAG. 

{mosads}Ebola has been mentioned 1,218 times in TV ads since Aug. 22, shortly after Congress held its first hearing on the disease.

Most of the Ebola ads are playing in races most likely to determine control of the Senate: North Carolina, Georgia, Colorado, Arkansas and Iowa.

Michelle Nunn, the Democratic contender in Georgia, has run the most ads on Ebola — with 250 appearing since August. She is closely followed by Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) and Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), according to the data, which was first reported by Bloomberg News.

Campaigns also bought TV time to help influence close House races in Florida, Iowa, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

A majority of the ads attack the Democratic response to the outbreak, which has been, at times, uncoordinated.

A few ads attack the GOP response to Ebola, including one against Rep. Keith Rothfus (R-Pa.) for his proposed cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Democrats were the first to hurl a political attack over Ebola.

The first Ebola ad appeared in August and was created by Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), one of the most vulnerable incumbents. In the ad, he slammed his challenger, Rep. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) for supporting cuts to emergency and defense funding.

At the time, 2,615 cases of Ebola had been reported. More than 13,000 cases have now been reported, nearly all in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

In other ways, however, the issue of Ebola is fading from the public view.

A White House briefing on Monday marked the first time in weeks that White House press secretary Josh Earnest fielded no questions on the deadly disease. Weekend talk shows were largely devoid of the issue as well.

Even the Twittersphere is quieting. The number of Ebola tweets has dropped to 2,041 per day from a high of 12,047 per day on Oct. 15 when the latest case was confirmed, according to Kantar Media.