Introduction The recent outbreak of Ebola has promoted international involvement from many organizations and governments. Most of these efforts have been focused on short-term solutions to control the disease. However, while many organizations provided medical workers, aid, and supplies to combat Ebola, their actions were insufficient to stop the spread of disease. There remains a multitude of problems in Sub-Saharan Africa, including lack of locally trained medical professionals and poor coordination between global health organizations and governments. Ultimately, these issues must be addressed in order to stop the spread of Ebola as well as other infectious diseases. Background and Context On March 23rd, 2014, the World Health …show more content…
The general symptoms of Ebola include headache, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach and muscle pain, difficulty swallowing and breathing, hiccupping, and unexplained bleeding (WHO Ebola Response Team, 2014). These symptoms may not appear in individuals until 2-21 days after exposure to the disease, making it very difficult to contain (MSF, 2015). Moreover, EVD is hard to diagnose in patients given its non-specific symptoms and usually requires a hemorrhagic disease expert, which are rare among medical professionals in sub-Saharan Africa. As a result, Ebola, with a mortality rate of 80 percent, is often overlooked or confused with other diseases’ symptoms and not treated appropriately (UNAID, 2015). The overall strategy in controlling EVD transmission focuses on two key factors: 1) early diagnosis and 2) infection control. Since there is no vaccine for Ebola, affected patients are treated using the following methods (MSF, 2015): a) Preventive Care: focuses on eliminating disease transmission between individuals b) Supportive Therapy: assists patients until they either recover or die from EVD There are a variety of international, national, and local organizations and institutions working to implement these treatments. The two main organizations fronting the international efforts are the WHO and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), or Doctors Without Borders. The WHO has assisted with preventive care by providing public
Diseases have been affecting the globe for decades. In recent years there have been many infectious diseases have been occurring and spreading across society. Out of the many infectious diseases, there are two that are going to be examined. The two diseases that are going to be analyzed and reviewed are Ebola and AIDS. The two diseases have a high rate of death among people who have been infected. The right rate of death has occurred for decades. Both of these diseases are highly effective at attacking the immune system of the victims. These diseases are both infectious, but are different in several ways. In order to understand how to treat or contain these two diseases, it is informative to be educated on each disease, how it is spread, and what symptoms are prevalent.
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 Ebola virus, also known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever, is often fatal to humans. The EVD (Ebola Virus Disease) is transmitted to people from wild animals and from human-to-human interaction. The symptoms of EVD include headaches, red eyes, fevers, lack of appetite, internal bleeding, aches, weakness, diarrhea, hiccups, sore throat, difficulty breathing, difficulty swallowing, chest pains, pain, vomiting, rash, and bleeding. Currently, there is no official cure for EVD, however there are viable treatments. Blood transfusions, supportive intensive care, oxygen therapy, and other fluid injections can help medicate the virus. Treating Ebola requires a good laboratory service and a safe burial service. The origin of the virus
Ebola is a disease outbreaking and killing off many Africans. It was also brought to the U.S. and infected people. the first case in the latest Ebola outbreak was in December 2013 in Guinea. in guinea the health facilities are weak and the doctors and medical workers aren't ready for such a big project and
The medical resources provided by the West African governments are limited. The affected countries are poverty ridden and do not have the government funding to provide the proper health care facilities. Most of the medicines that the Ebola infected countries receive come from organizations such as Doctors Without Borders, or MSF. MSF has shipped over 1,019 tons of supplies to Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia since they began aiding these countries in March of 2014 (“Ebola”). MSF has over 3,000 hired staff in the West African region, and the organization has approximately 600 beds for isolation (“Ebola”). The West African countries affected also have large populations, so even though they are receiving help from organizations like MSF they still do not have enough medical supplies to help all of the
This Ebola outbreak first began the jungles of West Africa and has spread throughout several countries in the area, but not the U.S. This is because of many factors, including traditional medical practices in Africa, lack of technology in many African areas, and access to advanced medical facilities in the U.S. The most significant of these is Africa’s lack of highly technological medical care.
Ebola has affected many African countries such as Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. In fact, “these countries have experienced the largest known Ebola virus disease epidemic with approximately 13,000 persons infected as of October 28, 2014” (Chevalier, Chung, & Smith, 2014). Then in late September 2014, a 45-year-old male who had arrived in the United States from Liberia 5 days earlier went to a Texas emergency department. It then came to the attention that this patient had Ebola and the CDC implemented appropriate guidelines to the hospital of Texas. These guidelines were implemented in order to prevent an Ebola outbreak. In fact, everyone who was in direct contact of the patient had daily monitoring for 21 days after the exposure (Cases,
The most current outbreak of Ebola is in West Africa which was discovered in March of 2014 and is considered one of the biggest Ebola outbreaks since Ebola was discovered in 1976. The countries affected the most by this virus are Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone. These countries do not have a stable economy which means they cannot afford the tools and technology to study the virus. In 2014 there were 9,936 Ebola victims but only 4,877 died that year. The virus has an extremely high risk of death. It kills between 25 and 90 percent of those infected by Ebola. Recovery from Ebola usually depends on care and the patient’s immune system's response to the treatment.
Ebola was, at first, very hard to label due to the many striking similarities it holds with another disease named Marburg. Both viruses show very similar traits and symptoms, and can only be pinpointed at a microscopic scale, which makes it hard to differentiate between the two (Altman 103). Although Ebola has shown to be a very difficult virus to resolve, modern science has researched and found some information about it. Scientists now know that there are a total of four strains of the virus, with three affecting humans while only one affects primates (Frey 333). All of Ebola’s strains, along with the other similar disease known as Marburg, all are in the same virus family dubbed as Filoviridae (“Ebola Virus” 368). Ever since Ebola was found in Africa, scientists have been working diligently to find a vaccination and hopefully a cure, but their efforts have gone unsuccessful. Ebola can code the infection into a host with only twelve proteins, which is a significantly smaller amount than many illnesses today (369). This complication with the virus has contributed to the reason why there is no cure. Although this is a great detriment to the scientific community, this has not deterred the search. This has in fact motivated the community to help aid the infected with supplies and educate villages as to how to be clean and
Background Information: Diseases have emerged and reemerged throughout history, claiming thousands of lives. The infectious and/or contagious nature of a disease allows for its rapid spread throughout a population, and thus, able to escalate quickly and claim a large portion of the population before they are contained. Diseases such as Ebola or AIDS are usually fatal, and their lack of available treatment fill people with dread and fear. The most recent outbreak of Ebola in 2014 experienced by the South African countries, especially Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea, is the largest Ebola outbreak in history (Frieden, T. R., Damon, I., Bell, B. P., Kenyon, T., & Nichol, S. 2014).. This virus has claimed the lives of 70 % of the people that
Chertow, D., Kleine, C., Edwards, J., Scaini, R., Giuliani, R., & Sprecher, A. (2014). Ebola virus disease in West Africa — Clinical manifestations and management. Retrieved November 25, 2014, from http://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMp1413084
Many people survive the Ebola virus, but there are lasting effects that will never leave the host’s body. With treatment for the disease beginning to become more effective, the amount of survivors are also increasing. Studies show that it can take nearly 9 months for a patient to recover fully, or as much as possible once contracted the disease. Long term effects include blurred vision, loss of hearing, joint pain, sleep difficulty, and even blindness (Umeora et al. 1). Although lingering effects of the disease can take place, one can recover almost fully if
In addition, handling “bushmeat” can cause Ebola to be transmitted. Bushmeat is known as the killing of an animal to be soon digested for nourishment purposes (1). Furthermore, humans are not the only ones susceptible to the virus, as this virus has killed primates. For example, the strain Ebola Reston has caused many deaths in primates, yet it has no effect on the human being (1). Many transmissions have occurred from healthcare workers not using personal protective equipment and having direct contact with the patient. Many ways to prevent the spreading of the EVD is to have a proper burial of the infected patient, maintaining a clean environment, and dividing the infected hosts that contain Ebola from the other patients. The main symptom and most common symptom from Ebola is the hemorrhagic fever/rash. A hemorrhagic fever/rash is where a particular spot on the human skin has its blood vessels bleeding looking like little red dots. This symptom may give off a hint to the physician for many diseases, one being
In 2014, an outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease occurred in a number of West African countries, with most cases confined to Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. The highly contagious disease, spread via contact with infected body fluid, including mucus, saliva, tears, sweat, breast milk, and semen, infected more than 28,000 people. Although generally contained, the effects of the epidemic were felt both directly and indirectly in the United States and many other developed countries due to the limited education on Ebola. Since October 2014, the African epidemic has been abated, and global efforts have shifted from crisis response to development of preventative strategies. In the United States, researchers, clinicians, and other decision makers focus
The Ebola epidemic in 2014-2016 has provided the opportunity for the public to witness the coordinated efforts of many health organizations such as Doctors without Borders, Samaritan’s Purse, World Health organization (WHO), and Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Although WHO focuses on the issues of global health while the CDC attends to the national health issues, these two organizations collaborate when it comes to health crisis, such as the Ebola epidemic. Together, CDC (2016) and WHO (2016), educated the public with similar information on Ebola virus disease: the history, transmission, mortality rate, treatment, prevention, and the latest progress.