Ebola Outbreak
By: Mackenzie Shuessler
Ebola is a serious, often fatal disease that is currently ravaging most of West Africa and is threatening to spread to other continents. Also known as EVD (Ebola Viral Disease), Ebola first appeared in 1976 in two simultaneous outbreaks. One was in Sudan and the other in the Democratic Republic of the Congo along the Ebola River. The current outbreak in West Africa started in March of 2014 and is the most complex Ebola outbreak since 1976. The 2014 outbreak already has more cases and deaths than all others combined. According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control) there have been 7470 cases and 3431 deaths. The reason Ebola is so devastating: there is no vaccine, no standard treatment, and the origin of the virus remains unknown. The fatality rates range from 50% to 90%, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), who have played an instrumental role in the surveillance, containment, and treatment of Ebola in at-risk countries. On August 8th, the WHO director declared this outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
The presumed cause of Ebola is the transmission of the virus from its natural hosts, such as fruit bats or infected monkeys, to humans. When a person has contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of an infected animal, they themselves are infected. Then, Ebola spreads through human-to-human transmission via bodily fluids. The virus can be transmitted from the bedding, clothes, or surfaces a carrier has used as well. People who have just died of Ebola are the most infectious. This one healer who died in Sierra Leone infected 14 people who prepared her body. Corpses have to be place in not one, but two sealed plastic bags and then in an airtight coffin. “Patient Zero”, or the first human case, has still yet to be identified.
There is a 2 to 21 day time interval from infection to the start of symptoms. First symptoms are a sudden fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and sore throat. Then vomiting, diarrhea, rash, kidney and liver problems, and in some cases even internal or external bleeding.
Rehydration and symptomatic treatments improve one’s chance of survival but there is still no licensed treatment that is proven to cure the virus. There are a few blood, immunological, and drug therapies that are being tested. Also, there are no preventative Ebola vaccines but two candidates are undergoing evaluation. Scientists in Canada announced the successful treatment of Ebola in a monkey on June 13th. This research can possibly help identify a cure but many challenges remain before the treatment can be applied to humans.
The biggest concern of people in the United States is “Can there be an outbreak here?” In fact, a Pew poll found 11 percent of Americans were "very worried" that they themselves or a family member will be exposed to Ebola, while 21 percent are somewhat worried. But, the CDC says that since Ebola isn’t spread through casual contact, the risk of a widespread outbreak in America is very slim. There is a Warning Level 3 notice for American travelers though. This warning says to avoid nonessential travel to the West African nations of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Although there hasn’t been an outbreak here, there have been 6 cases of Ebola. CDC confirmed on September 30, 2014, the first travel-associated case of Ebola to be diagnosed in the United States. Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian citizen, died on Wednesday, October 8th at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. Duncan had recently traveled to West Africa but didn’t show signs of the illness until 5 days after his flight back to the United States. He was admitted after showing symptoms similar to Ebola. The hospital isolated the patient and tried several experimental drugs but they didn’t help.
Along with common worries about Ebola there are also a lot of conspiracy theories. A popular theory is that Ebola is a man-made biological weapon that governments are using to decrease the population or gain political power. Also, some people in affected regions have become very distrustful of doctors because of suggestions that Ebola is just a hoax. One woman in Sierra Leone says, “I do not believe Ebola exists because none of my family members has been affected by it. When you get sick of cholera, they say it is Ebola. When your body temperature rises, they say it is Ebola. So I honestly don’t believe Ebola exists. There could be a lot of other diseases killing people.” One of the main challenges regarding the theory that the disease is a hoax is convincing people that it is real, and that it kills. Social media hasn’t helped this problem either. Since Twitter is a way to reach millions of people, public health officials and medical experts have turned to the media outlet to try and educate and inform. But, doing so in 140 characters or less has proven difficult. Besides health officials and doctors, other users take to twitter to share half-truths or rumors. This just adds to the number of irrational fears and conspiracies regarding Ebola. One twitter user said that the CDC is inserting Ebola into to common vaccines and that people should refrain from getting them and switching to other methods of treatment such as poisonous snake venom or other homeopathic treatments. But, the longer one waits for medical treatment, the more likely it is that they are going to die. “False beliefs may not be the biggest obstacle to containing the Ebola outbreak, but they make an awful situation worse” says the New York Times.
With international aid and the dedication of countless doctors and researchers, hopefully we can find a cure and combat this lethal disease before even more innocent people die.
