We all have heard about the Ebola pandemic that sent a wave of terror throughout the world. In the hopes of containing the virus fights were shut down, trade stop and Africa was isolated. We were the lucky ones to only have eight confirmed cases of Ebola in the United States and only one of which have died. However, in West Africa from 28,500 people were infected and 11,300 of the infected died (Sternberg). The virus originated in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leon and soon became one of the largest and most serve Ebola outbreak since it was first discovered in humans thirty years ago(GIC). The virus was able to spread so quickly because of the lack of preparation and knowledge the people of West Africa.
These countries had never been exposed to the Ebola and because of this they were extremely unprepared to handle the virus (Krutzman). The hospitals and containment center were only built to main a level three outbreak whereas Ebola was a level four bio hazard. This caused a lack of necessary equipment and Ebola screening devices(GIC). The lack in these basic supplies scared away the health care professionals and volunteers in fear for their own safety. And for the ones who did stay there were little to no safety protocols in place. Since these countries were so unprepared there was no offical security borders meaning that infected bodies when being transported without proper documentation and infected people were able to slip pass security check points spreading the virus throughout the different regions(GIC).
Another reason the virus was able to spread quickly across West Africa was because there was a lack of knowledge among the people. The health care professionals were so uninformed about the virus that they started treating it as malaria or other well known disease in that region (GIC). This allowed the infected people to go around spreading the disease without knowing. Without guidance from the government or other world wide health organizations the people kept on living their everyday lives taking no precautions. They continued to hunt for the majority of their food unknowingly consuming the virus(GIC). And for those who did want to learn more turned to their cultural or spiritual leaders, taking this option meant staying away from containment centers even if you were infected because it went against what they believed in. The traditions burial rituals done by these leaders also posed a threat to the people. Before the outbreak they would sanitize the bodies before they were buried but since they lacked the proper sanitary supplies the virus could be spread throughout this process (GIC).
Now two year after the start of the Ebola outbreak Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leon are now declared Ebola free. However, the World Health Organization says that "There is a risk, and this outbreak is in a critical phase right now where we are moving from case management to management of risk”. Right after that announcement was given there was a new case of Ebola in Liberia. And since they all went Ebola free there have been ten more cases of Ebola throughout these countries (World). So just because the outbreak is not in the news as much doesn’t mean it has disappeared permanently.
Work Cited
"GIC | Article." Elina Ignatius. African News Service, 14 Oct. 2014. Web. 4 Mar. 2016.
Kurtzman, Laura. "Understanding Ebola." UC San Francisco. The Regents of the University of California, 23 Oct. 2014. Web. 07 Mar. 2016.
Sternberg, Steven. "West Africa's Ebola Epidemic Is Over." US News. U.S.News & World Report, 15 Jan. 2016. Web. 08 Mar. 2016.
I really think that this is an important topic that is not receiving as much media attention, and the fact that so many health care professionals weren't trained to deal with an outbreak like this and still aren't was surprising. I would like to hear more specifically how big the potential is for another outbreak – how many countries still have cases?
ReplyDeleteMy favorite aspect of your article was definitely your two main ideas and how they flowed well and connect well with the conclusion paragraph. The body paragraphs were clear and concise, and I definitely realized just how bad Ebola is in Africa. My main take-away was that the lack of interference from the government heavily affected the citizens and the lack of preparedness lead to the greater mortality rate of Ebola. My follow-up question is: Do you think they will find a cure for Ebola in this generation?
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