Ebola Virus In West Africa

In late 2013, Ebola virus disease (EVD), a deadly and lethal disease, remerged in West Africa spreading to various countries in the region. In humans, the disease is spread through contact with infected bodily fluids leading to haemorrhagic fever (World Health Organization [WHO], 2015). Originating in 1976 in equatorial Africa, past outbreaks with a few hundred cases had been contained within rural, forested areas in Uganda and Congo (Piot, 2012). In 2014, a total of 20, 206 cases and 7,905 deaths were reported to have occurred in up to eight countries worldwide. Of all cases and deaths resulting from the disease, 99.8% occurred in three neighbouring West African countries - Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea (WHO, 2014). With a case fatality rate from about 50% to 90%, and the absence of preventative or curative therapies, the Ebola epidemic has led to overall global alarm and further elucidated existing global health disparities that perpetuated the epidemic with these West African countries.

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 &

Despite modest health improvements in the decade or so following the end of active conflict, the 2014-2015 Ebola epidemic revealed ongoing systemic issues. The global involvement in the Mano River region countries, and particularly the role of the World Health

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

There is no universal fix to the complexities of each country and what they face with regards to their health care needs. Health care is a fundamental need among all peoples. Each country will have to work on solving the disparities that exist in access of care, funding of care, and availability of care. Because we now find ourselves facing the dilemma of fighting many infectious diseases once thought to be under control, we must work with all countries around the world. Every country faces the potential of an outbreak of a disease like SARS or a terrorism strike involving biological or chemical agents. Global initiatives to improve the health of nations across the board regardless of resources in these nations will benefit all. We need to continue with consistent and comprehensive measures to ensure health equity to all (Williams & Torrens, 2010).

The supererogatory capitalist mentality reinforced in American society as a means of success and an acceptable manner to diligently fulfill ethical and moral obligations has been streamlined through the allocation of financial resources, however, these contributions have failed to educate West Africans about precautionary measures, build an effective public health infrastructure and has generated a new strain of the virus: Ebola Debt. Since the recent outbreak of Ebola in early 2014 politicians and public health officials have collaborated with the World Health Organization to dedicate the “Health System Fund” aiming to repay what a large portion of the population claims to be a debt to our allies, which beguiles

As with any infectious disease, whether it originates from a virus, bacterium, or fungi, there is the possibility that it will become an epidemic. For centuries, deadly diseases have threatened to infect and possibly eradicate mankind. The Ebola virus, which causes an extremely fatal hemorrhagic fever, is considered to be one of the most aggressive contagions in the world. The Ebola virus is a member of a family of RNA viruses known as, “Filoviridae” and is composed of multiple distinct subspecies (Bausch et al. 2007). It causes Ebola Virus Disease, a fairly new disease that plagues multiple poor countries within Africa. The virus mainly attacks the lymphatic system, but also severely damages the reproductive and reticuloendothelial systems. The Ebola virus disease causes muscle pain, weakness, limited kidney and liver function and extreme blood loss due to failure of blood clotting.

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

Care of people with Ebola is difficult and varied due to the highly infectious and often fatal nature of the disease. For instance, care can occur through traditional healers, the home, primary health care facilities and hospitals (Manguvo, A & Mafuvadze, B 2015, p. 2). Where a individual seeks care depends on the level of trust in the healthcare system, accessibility and abundance of healthcare facilities, financial and economic stance and cultural beliefs (WHO 2016). There was considerable difference in the ability of health care services to deal with infectious diseases due to scarcity in supplies and training. When the Ebola epidemic began in 2014 Sierra Leone 's government health care system was built on rigid foundations. There were scant resources, limited infrastructure, poor training on infection prevention and control and a severe shortage of health care workers with a ratio of 1.9 workers for every 10,000 people. (Michaels-Strasser et al. 2015, p. 61). The lack of IPC training lead to ‘health care workers being 100 times more likely than the general population to contract Ebola’ (Ratnayake et al. 2016, p. 2). When healthcare workers became infected colleges became frightened further reducing community trust in the healthcare system.

The outbreak engulfing three countries in West Africa began in Guinea when a toddler contracted the virus from eating an infected bat in an impoverished village where bushmeat is a dietary staple – again highlighting the disparity in living standards and socio-economic status between core and peripheral nations. Infectious disease like Ebola have mostly been exorcised from developed countries because a basic level of health is ensured through the government, private sector, or social agency. Unfortunately, the poor in Guinea avoid seeking aid because they cannot afford to, as discussed above. Also, fear of and lack of trust in authority prevents individuals from seeking medical attention – this distrust has stemmed

Over 50% of the world’s population is now living in urban areas, this provides for closer proximity of neighbors, confinement in transportation; buses, trains, carpools, and the limited ability to quarantine and control isolation. The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Hong Kong in 2002 and 2003, which was believed to have originated in rural China, demonstrated how dense urban living could ignite a global health crisis (Ronak B. Patel, M.D., M.P.H., and Thomas F. Burke, M.D.). In poorer areas, resources are limited, and it is difficult to contain outbreaks, education and prevention are minimal, and treatment is dependent upon responding countries, and NGOs. Pandemics are not just the problem of the countries affected; all countries have a concern, both financially and medically. As seen recently, with the spread of the Ebola virus, the spread of disease is only limited by the traveler; with the ease and ability to fly from country to country, an outbreak is inevitable. In the slums of third world countries, the lack of reporting and adequate health care will lead to the spread of undetected diseases. During the 1918 influenza pandemic, it is estimated that up to 100 million people worldwide and 670,000 people in the U.S.A. died (Siddharth Chandra). A

My current health issue in an underdeveloped country is the recent measles outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This country is prone to many disease epidemics, as a result of frequent wars, which have resulted in poor health infrastructure and government services. Many people are not able to get access to or afford the proper medical care that they need, and this can contribute to the spreading of the disease. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, measles is often a life-threatening issue, along with occurrences of malaria and cholera. Many additional factors have also led to the large number of people infected, such as shortages of medicine and trained medical staff, the delay in medical relief due to the failure of authorities

The hard hit nations have inadequate capacities to detect, treat and slow down the transmission of EVD. The outbreak consequently overwhelmed governments and health systems that were already inundated. Feeble health systems and a seeming void in effective global health governance resulted into an unprecedented EVD outbreak. To help stop Ebola and contain the situation in those affected countries reflects positively on the donor countries as well. The U.S for one would not just be assisting the nationals of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone but also its own citizens by preventing a possible spread that could be very well associated with exponentially higher costs and health consequences. Currently, the US has no billing or ICD-9 diagnosis code for Ebola13, hampering the ability of health facilities and personnel to comply for ‘Ebola protocols’. Gerard Anderson, a professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg school of Public health estimates average bills of $18,000 to $24,000 daily including intensive care costs plus costs of losing revenue by isolating patients14. It is additionally not clear whether insurance can or is willing to pay for extras associated with treatment, for instance protective (hazmat) suits,

Hospitals The most evident cases of the Ebola virus outbreak and poor medical infrastructure have been noted in hospital settings alone. If a hospital isn’t able to provide patients with quality and rapid treatment, then one can assume that the population it serves is indeed in danger. A hospital is where the sick look to when diseases such as Ebola leave them helpless. While developed nations with remarkable healthcare infrastructure are able to both diagnose and treat patients in clean and life supporting conditions, many poor regions like Africa struggle to create these resources for patients within

Viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs) are found around the world that is one group of illness caused by virus of five distinct families: Arenaviridae, Bunyaviridae, Filoviridae, Flaviviridae, and Paramyxoviridae (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013). These include the Ebola and Marburg, Lassa fever, and yellow fever virus (U.S National Library of Medicine, 2016). Garrett point out that less than a decade ago, one of the biggest problem in the world was the lack of resources available to combat the multiple scourges ravaging the world’s poor and sick. (Garrett, p. 171). Today, thanks to private donations, more money is being assigned toward pressing health challenges. But because the efforts of this money is paying for a largely uncoordinated and directed mostly at specific high profile diseases resulting a problem because the world is poised to spend enormous resources to conquer the diseases of the poor (Garrett, p. 171). This paper will discuss the epidemiology of VHFs., the social inequalities and the biosocial ecology.