Many students including myself have heard of this epidemic called Ebola but are oblivious to information concerning its causation, infection, symptoms and other attributes.
Ebola began its most recent outbreak in West Africa in 2013. The disease was spread by travelers who crossed borders from Guinea to Liberia and then Sierra Leone.
Unfortunately, Ebola has made its way to the United States, but it is being contained as much as possible. Currently, we are nowhere near the turmoil that is taking place in Africa, but how long that will last remains to be seen.
Africa is experiencing about 13 deaths per day because of Ebola, its number of victims having accelerated from four a day. However, the number of infections this year is in the thousands with the most being four thousand in Liberia.
Ebola still is a minuscule cause of death in Africa compared to Malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, which continue to kill hundreds every day. The reason the infection is spreading throughout Africa at such an alarming rate compared to the U.S. is its lack of healthcare facilities.
In addition, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone are among the poorest countries in the world with their healthcare facilities receiving some of the least government regulation. The U.S. has 245 doctors for every 100,000 people whereas Guinea only has one.
We are fortunate enough to have the proper medical attention surrounding patients who have symptoms of Ebola.
The most frightening aspect of Ebola is our struggle and inability to contain it. While many doctors assumed an Ebola outbreak could always be managed. It is looking to be harder than they originally thought.
The disease is hard for people to catch, and it’s only contagious when people start to show symptoms such as abrupt fever, headache, joint and muscle pain, which progresses to diarrhea, vomiting and stomach pain. Scientists are working continuously to create a licensed treatment or vaccine to combat the outbreak, but until that happens, the disease is only going to continue spreading in Africa, as well as other countries.
There has been the alarming news that a nurse at the Texas hospital where Thomas Duncan was being treated for the disease has contracted Ebola. She is the first person to contract Ebola within the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now reviewing procedures and infection control at hospitals caring for Ebola patients.
While many Americans are understandably worried, the worst thing people can do is panic.
Many politicians want to cut off visas from West Africa until the Ebola virus is controlled. While this is a hefty precautionary measure, it may be a necessary one to keep the epidemic from spreading overseas more than it already has. Hopefully, our doctors will be able to give a faster and accurate diagnosis of the disease because the most efficient way to contain the outbreak until an official treatment is found is to give proper diagnosis before a person may become contagious.
Unfortunately, medical policies have encouraged centralized testing of many dangerous viruses, so very few cities can actually test for Ebola locally. Maybe doctors will change this policy if Ebola continues to infect people in the U.S.
I do not see Ebola becoming anything similar to “Contagion” in the U.S. as long as the public is informed of its symptoms and if our doctors can give a timely diagnosis.
Parsa Rafatian is a sophomore from Oxford.
