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Ebola Outbreak in West Africa — World Points


Writer and Web page data

  • by Anup Shah
  • This web page Created

On this web page:

  1. Introduction
  2. The place does the Ebola virus come from?
  3. Tackling the unfold of the Ebola virus
  4. Information tales from IPS

Introduction

The newest Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa has been described by the World Well being Group (WHO) as the biggest, most extreme and most complicated outbreak within the historical past of the illness.

The epidemic started on the finish of 2013, in Guinea. From there it unfold to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Senegal. Most of the affected international locations face monumental challenges in stopping its unfold and offering take care of all sufferers.

Hundreds of individuals have died and lots of are in danger because the fatality fee from this virus may be very excessive. Because the disaster worsens, in addition to the large well being challenges concerned, the social and financial penalties might set these international locations again, reversing some positive factors quite a few these international locations have made lately.

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The place does the Ebola virus come from?

In keeping with the Heart for Illness Management (CDC) within the US, the preliminary human an infection comes from contact with an contaminated animal, most certainly a bat. From there, human to human transmission spreads the illness.


Virus Ecology Graphic
, CDC, August 1, 2014

As The Guardian has famous, medication and vaccines for Ebola has sometimes been low precedence for the principle medication corporations though now there’s a new focus and sense of urgency:

Till now, pharmaceutical corporations have given Ebola very low precedence. The few potential medication and vaccines underneath growth are actually being sped into trials. Wholesome volunteers within the UK and US have been injected with a candidate vaccine to check security. Drug trials will quickly be arrange in west Africa, however they’re a number of months away and there’s no certainty that they may work.

Briefing: West Africa’s Ebola disaster, The Guardian, final accessed, September 27, 2014

As has been talked about on this web site for years, sadly illnesses affecting the poorest international locations the worst have sometimes acquired little consideration or funding, typically as there isn’t any revenue in it for medication corporations, which raises a complete set of different points about drug remedies and entry to important medicines.

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Tackling the unfold of the Ebola virus

The CDC additionally notes that strict isolation of contaminated sufferers is crucial to scale back onward transmission.

As well as, as quite a few these international locations are fairly poor, help and well being help is sort of important as sources are restricted for already strained budgets and well being departments. Whereas help has been sluggish to return, help by itself is not going to assist; there’s a basic lack of sufficient skilled workers, primary tools and applicable medical services to deal with the variety of folks needing care. And that doesn’t even cowl the extra providers that may very well be wanted for hundreds of people that have misplaced many family members, together with whole households.

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Information tales from IPS

Beneath is an inventory of tales from Inter Press Service associated to this newest Ebola virus outbreak.

  1. Subsequent Ebola Outbreak Not a Matter of If, however When