Ebola Outbreak Research Paper

Ebola Virus also known as EVD was discovered in West Africa around 1976. The affected region in Congo was near the Ebola River, which is how the virus got its name. The first two outbreaks were in Nzara, Sudan and Yambuku. Ebola is an infectious and generally fatal disease marked by fever and severe internal bleeding. It is spread through contact with infected body fluids, whose normal host species is unknown. It can be transmitted through wild animals, and after affected, through human to human contact. The average case fatality rate is fifty percent. The rate has been anywhere between twenty-five to ninety percent in that past.

The Ebola Virus is a very sensitive subject at this time, with an outbreak within Western Africa (Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia most affected) causing panic and fear among many countries across the world. Within this essay, I aim to cover the transmission of the virus and how it replicates within the host cells, whilst briefly looking at the symptoms and dangers of the disease.

If a health clinic providing basic services to the world’s most vulnerable people is withheld the large amount of foreign assistance that currently comes from the United States government, all diseases will flourish, including epidemics such as Zika and Ebola (Barry-Jester, 2016). We contribute to more unstable political environments (Crimm, 2007, p.615) and more refugees that we increasingly refuse to help when we take away aid that would countries meet the needs of their citizens.

Ebola is a virus that is transmitted to other individuals through direct contact with blood and body fluids of those infected (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2015). In the most recent outbreak in 2014, the video Ebola Outbreak (2014) illustrated that the virus quickly became a worldwide epidemic. As the virus became so widespread throughout Africa, Ebola-infected so many people in such a short time frame. While the organization, Doctors without Borders was intimately involved early on, they quickly learned that the manpower they had to offer was not nearly enough. The group identified that they had no way of performing contact tracing, which is a way of following patients that were contaminated and quickly led to additional cases of infection in astronomical numbers. According to the follow-up video, Outbreak (2014) the organization Doctors without Borders communicated to the World Health Organization (WHO) made a valiant

Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a rare deadly infection that is caused by one of five identified strains of the Ebola virus.

UNICEF officer, Suzanne Mary Beukes provided a clearer insight to how poor the country of Guinea is when she wrote, "The world has virtually quarantined a country in which 43 percent of people were already living on less than $1.25 a day prior to this health crisis” (Gholipour, 2014). The countries of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone (the countries where outbreaks primarily occurred), are some of the poorest countries in the world as a result of their recent civil war and the damaged health and education infrastructures that followed. (“Factors that Contributed to the Spread of Ebola,” n.d., para. 10). The poor infrastructures led to the delayed transportation of patients and lab work to labs and hospitals in addition to the lack of communication between health facilities. In addition to the lack of health facilities, there was shortage of healthcare workers. “Prior to the outbreaks, the three countries (Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone) had a ratio of only one to two doctors per nearly 100,000 population” (“Factors that Contributed to the Spread of Ebola,” n.d., para. 15). The poverty in these cities and countries lead people to want to move to a better standard of living, be treated for the virus, and look for food &

In recent years, Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone have launched major healthcare initiatives in order to expand and improve access to services. However, the state of health systems for the last 20 years is difficult to overcome. Liberia and Sierra Leone were each embroiled in civil wars until the mid-2000s. Porous borders and a shared diamond belt meant that their conflicts were often shared, as political strife, violence, looting, armed forces, and refugees moved to neighboring countries. , Guinea in particular was on the receiving end of refugees. During that time in all three countries, health systems were uniformly poor, with under-staffed and under-resourced facilities, significant health disparities, and almost no systematic infectious disease surveillance or control.

Thousands have died and many are in danger from the effects of Ebola. In 2013, the pestilent virus began in Guinea where it then meandered into Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Senegal. The African countries are now facing challenges to fight and prevent the malaise. The alarming death rate is forcing the region into a state of crisis. The affected countries are striving for a cure, however, the issue remains incorrigible. “In addition, as a number of these countries are quite poor, aid and health

Government officials in Africa argue the inefficient response during the critical threshold and the amount of money spent on establishing an American health care system parallels the imperialism movement and has left the countries vulnerable to future outbreaks, indebted and currently still unprepared. The monetary “loans”, less than half of which actually reached affected countries last year failed to educate the public (Duval). This raises the question of owing money that was not distributed to tackle immediate threats but attempted to repair years of corruption and unstable health care

This Ebola outbreak taught us many factors of public health that we simply ignore daily, like washing hands. These viruses are easily transmitted from person to person, through their blood or body-fluids. Therefore it is very important to research about our public health around us, for everyone’s health and future. The Ebola outbreak showed how the world is very ignorant of their public health. It is better for them to know all of these tragedies and educate themselve to prevent from any other outbreaks that will take place in the future. The plan to release more information and persuade to adjust West African culture will definitely make public healthier, view the world differently, and our future generations will learn the importance of learning

11. In conclusion this article reflects how the effect of Ebola has damaged the economy of Sierra Leone. As the President and CEO of World Hope International states “He thinks that Sierra Leone will recover and they have to focus on developing energy and water”.

The 2014 epidemic was the first truly transnational outbreak of Ebola, the longest in duration, and the first with a human case diagnosed on American soil. (Wilson, 2015, 1) This was a pivotal moment of global health, as it occurred at the formal end of the UNMDGs, some of which aimed to improve health conditions in vulnerable countries. (Wilson, 2015, 3) These and other MDGs were set back by this epidemic, (UNDP 2014) exposing the role that chronically weak and underfunded public health systems played in disrupting perceptions of global health security. In an epoch characterized by neoliberal globalization, vulnerabilities caused by interdependency between the Global South are easy to identify, producing discourses of explanation,

Ebola is the global killer and communicable disease of the world with 69 % case fatality rate, whereas only Zaire strain virus has 90% case fatality rate. It attacks Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, especially the west African’s region as

The World Bank is overseeing a request for the The Emergency Economic and Fiscal Support Operation to the Republic of Sierra Leone (Projects: Sierra Leone. World Bank). The Government of Sierra Leone has requested the sum of thirty million dollars to help reduce the economic effects of the recent Ebola outbreak. The funds are to be allocated to social infrastructure and to support the quality of life and opportunities presented to people of both genders (Projects: Sierra Leone. World Bank). This is a necessity in Sierra Leone as repression is what drove their recent civil war.

At the time Ebola struck, the World Health Organizations mission was to coordinate authority on international health work. During Ebola, WHO directed organizations to furnish aid upon the request of the government. Previous to the Ebola epidemic, the WHO’s budget was cut by a half a billion dollars. The budget cut lead to three hundred jobs being terminated, mainly effecting the emergency response staff. Friedman and Gostin propose making WHO the apex of change emphasizing the importance of a government funded organization motivating the stronger system. The authors discuss WHO’s treaty-making capability expressing their concern for its lack in exercise. Gostin and Friedman want WHO to set priorities, mobilize action, and promote compliance with protocols set forth by the UN and Global Health System. The authors gain support from their readers when they compare WHOs capabilities to the actions of other