Ebola Virus
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Get a grip!
Fwiw, as I type this reply, I'm presently in West Africa (Monrovia / Liberia, to be precise) in a bar watching the 'World Cup' (Ghana vs Germany) and all is completely normal... aside from regular outbursts of frenetic football related shouting, chanting, and general African exuberance !
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afootsoldier: Fwiw, I flew out from Monrovia about 5 weeks ago, evidently suffering no ill effects (either then or since) and, when I left there, things there were comparatively normal, just as indeed that the same was reported to me earlier today by my sister-in-law whom is in Monrovia this very day. From her report, the biggest impact seems to be on the loss of trade (and therein reductions of income) which the emergency measures are having on the local populace, remembering that these are majoratively v.poor people, whom don't possess much by way of savings (if any) onto which they can fall back (indeed I would suspect that even many in Dubai would struggle if a 3 month 'state of emergency' was declared and, as a result of which, incomes were slashed and the prices for basic essentials shot through the roof). That said, knowing these people, they're the epitome of generous when it comes to sharing, amongst one another, what little they have.
Here’s a very interesting article about diseases, and one that’s well worthy of a read:
So, "Cheers!" and the bar is still open !
See also: USA House Committee on Foreign Affairs - Subcommittee on Africa - Combating the Ebola Threat - August 7, 2014
Here’s a very interesting article about diseases, and one that’s well worthy of a read:
The current Ebola outbreak in Africa is dominating headlines globally. But Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of the GAVI Alliance questions why this is - rather than any of the other deadly diseases which exist. He suggests it's because people in the 'west' have forgotten what it is like to deal with an untreatable disease. That, plus fear-inducing descriptions that have been doing the rounds in the media lately.
E.g. It starts with familiar flu-like symptoms: a mild fever, headache, muscle and joint pains. But within days this can quickly descend into something more exotic and frightening: vomiting and diarrhoea, followed by bleeding from the gums, the nose and gastrointestinal tract. Death comes in the form of either organ failure or low blood pressure caused by the extreme loss of fluids.
However, this is not a description of an Ebola infection but rather '‘Dengue Shock Syndrome’, an extreme form of dengue fever, a mosquito-borne disease that struggles to make the news.
Yes, Ebola is without a doubt a truly horrible disease, but then there are many other bad ones that kill far more. So, why is it that Ebola is grabbing headlines and other deadly diseases are not? Is it because people in Africa are suddenly dying? That seems unlikely.
Dengue has a relatively low death rate, but it still kills up to 20,000 of the half a million people who are infected every year; that's an order of magnitude more than the worst Ebola outbreak, and yet it is barely a fifth of the number whom are killed by measles every year.
And when you start to look at pathogens like pneumococcal and rotavirus - causes of the two biggest childhood killers, pneumonia and diarrhoea - the number of deaths rapidly climbs up into the high hundreds of thousands.
But then so many other diseases are more infectious, like measles (through air-droplets), and hepatitis B (which is transmitted by similar means to HIV, but 50x more infectious).
Perhaps then it has something to do with the fact that there is no cure and that 50%-90% of people infected with Ebola will inevitably die? Possibly, but then there is no cure for rabies either, and once someone develops symptoms they are almost 100% likely to die a slow and painful death, unless, that is, they have been vaccinated post-exposure. And herein lies a clue.
The fact is, while Ebola likely means a painful and isolated death, away from loved ones, there are other diseases that are horrific and equally deserving of both our fear and respect; diseases which, like Ebola, are still dreaded in West Africa and beyond, and which regularly kill hundreds of thousands of people throughout the world's poorest countries.
However, in wealthy countries, thanks to the availability of modern medicines, many of these diseases can now usually be treated or cured, and thanks to vaccines they rarely have to be. Because of this, we have simply forgotten what it is like to live under threat of such infectious and deadly diseases, and also forgotten what it means to fear them.
So when an outbreak like this comes along, from the comfort of our relatively disease-free surroundings it is only natural to look on in horror and be terrified by the prospect of something like Ebola making its way to our shores.
But while Ebola remains a genuine concern in West Africa (i.e. ‘poor’ countries), if it ever did make it to Europe or North America (i.e. ‘rich’ countries) the chances of it spreading far are remote. This is for two important reasons: first our disease surveillance is more stringent, and second Ebola kills or immobilises its host before they have much of a chance to spread it (that and certain cultural differences to do with how we nurse sick people and / or deal with them when they die).
In reality, a bigger concern far closer to home is that some diseases which we once vanquished, like measles, rubella and pertussis, are now making a comeback.
Thanks to an insidious complacency (coupled with the stupidity of the anti-vaxer’s), we have seen significant drops in vaccination rates in many parts of the western world, to the extent that diseases are not only coming back, but doing so to levels where WE are actually exporting them to poorer countries.
You certainly have to ask why we should be seeing deaths from diseases we have previously wiped out, and for which we have safe and effective vaccinations, and yet in these same wealthy countries people are now asking why there isn't an Ebola vaccine?
So the fact that this Ebola outbreak has received so much attention is actually something to be applauded.
For one thing it may help to accelerate the progress of some of the quite promising candidate drug treatments and vaccines whose development have otherwise been stalling. More of a certainty is that it will help bring in improved emergency response plans in affected countries, measures which could help prevent any future outbreaks from spreading quite so fast and so far.
For people in West Africa who are currently trying to get through this terrible outbreak that will be of little comfort.
Even so, if casting the international spotlight onto Ebola helps to bring our notions of risk perception into sharper focus then that can't be a bad thing - not just in terms of boosting immunisation rates at home.
But also if it helps to remind us that Ebola is not the exception, but rather just one example of the terrible norm - where thousands of men, women and children are dying from a range of horrible diseases every day - then perhaps that will bring the world a step closer to doing more about it.
Global deaths from various diseases:
E.g. It starts with familiar flu-like symptoms: a mild fever, headache, muscle and joint pains. But within days this can quickly descend into something more exotic and frightening: vomiting and diarrhoea, followed by bleeding from the gums, the nose and gastrointestinal tract. Death comes in the form of either organ failure or low blood pressure caused by the extreme loss of fluids.
However, this is not a description of an Ebola infection but rather '‘Dengue Shock Syndrome’, an extreme form of dengue fever, a mosquito-borne disease that struggles to make the news.
Yes, Ebola is without a doubt a truly horrible disease, but then there are many other bad ones that kill far more. So, why is it that Ebola is grabbing headlines and other deadly diseases are not? Is it because people in Africa are suddenly dying? That seems unlikely.
Dengue has a relatively low death rate, but it still kills up to 20,000 of the half a million people who are infected every year; that's an order of magnitude more than the worst Ebola outbreak, and yet it is barely a fifth of the number whom are killed by measles every year.
And when you start to look at pathogens like pneumococcal and rotavirus - causes of the two biggest childhood killers, pneumonia and diarrhoea - the number of deaths rapidly climbs up into the high hundreds of thousands.
But then so many other diseases are more infectious, like measles (through air-droplets), and hepatitis B (which is transmitted by similar means to HIV, but 50x more infectious).
Perhaps then it has something to do with the fact that there is no cure and that 50%-90% of people infected with Ebola will inevitably die? Possibly, but then there is no cure for rabies either, and once someone develops symptoms they are almost 100% likely to die a slow and painful death, unless, that is, they have been vaccinated post-exposure. And herein lies a clue.
The fact is, while Ebola likely means a painful and isolated death, away from loved ones, there are other diseases that are horrific and equally deserving of both our fear and respect; diseases which, like Ebola, are still dreaded in West Africa and beyond, and which regularly kill hundreds of thousands of people throughout the world's poorest countries.
However, in wealthy countries, thanks to the availability of modern medicines, many of these diseases can now usually be treated or cured, and thanks to vaccines they rarely have to be. Because of this, we have simply forgotten what it is like to live under threat of such infectious and deadly diseases, and also forgotten what it means to fear them.
So when an outbreak like this comes along, from the comfort of our relatively disease-free surroundings it is only natural to look on in horror and be terrified by the prospect of something like Ebola making its way to our shores.
But while Ebola remains a genuine concern in West Africa (i.e. ‘poor’ countries), if it ever did make it to Europe or North America (i.e. ‘rich’ countries) the chances of it spreading far are remote. This is for two important reasons: first our disease surveillance is more stringent, and second Ebola kills or immobilises its host before they have much of a chance to spread it (that and certain cultural differences to do with how we nurse sick people and / or deal with them when they die).
In reality, a bigger concern far closer to home is that some diseases which we once vanquished, like measles, rubella and pertussis, are now making a comeback.
Thanks to an insidious complacency (coupled with the stupidity of the anti-vaxer’s), we have seen significant drops in vaccination rates in many parts of the western world, to the extent that diseases are not only coming back, but doing so to levels where WE are actually exporting them to poorer countries.
You certainly have to ask why we should be seeing deaths from diseases we have previously wiped out, and for which we have safe and effective vaccinations, and yet in these same wealthy countries people are now asking why there isn't an Ebola vaccine?
So the fact that this Ebola outbreak has received so much attention is actually something to be applauded.
For one thing it may help to accelerate the progress of some of the quite promising candidate drug treatments and vaccines whose development have otherwise been stalling. More of a certainty is that it will help bring in improved emergency response plans in affected countries, measures which could help prevent any future outbreaks from spreading quite so fast and so far.
For people in West Africa who are currently trying to get through this terrible outbreak that will be of little comfort.
Even so, if casting the international spotlight onto Ebola helps to bring our notions of risk perception into sharper focus then that can't be a bad thing - not just in terms of boosting immunisation rates at home.
But also if it helps to remind us that Ebola is not the exception, but rather just one example of the terrible norm - where thousands of men, women and children are dying from a range of horrible diseases every day - then perhaps that will bring the world a step closer to doing more about it.
Global deaths from various diseases:
- Dengue fever: up to 20,000 annually
- Measles (in 2012): 122,000 deaths
- Ebola (2014 outbreak): +930 people
See also: USA House Committee on Foreign Affairs - Subcommittee on Africa - Combating the Ebola Threat - August 7, 2014
Last edited by Old King Coal; 10th Aug 2014 at 06:15.
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If the Ebola virus is caught by direct contact with the bodily fluids of the infected person, why then are there 97+ health workers, wearing full protection suits, infected with the disease!!?
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jack schidt: Seemingly the most likely (and tragic) reasons behind the numerous infections & deaths amongst 'health workers', i.e. within those affected (infected) West African countries, has been due to:
Coupled with this, a lot a West African 'health workers' have only rudimentary levels of education themselves (remembering that having all of ones teachers either run away and / or be murdered, during what amounts to almost 14 years of civil war - i.e. in Liberia - doesn't exactly help consolidate ones education during ones formative years... and ones typical 'nurse' in West Africa is almost certainly not at the same standard as, say, an A&E triage nurse in the UK... that said, the various Nurses, Doctors, plus various heath workers, in West Africa, are undoubtedly doing their v.best against almost impossible odds, and therein I, for one, have the utmost respect towards them for their integrity, commitment, and bravery in their tackling of this disease).
Imho, the majority of people whom might read this thread are unlikely to have ever experienced of the levels of poverty that we're talking about here (i.e. specific to West Africa), it being a region where the vast majority are surviving on a hand-to-mouth existence of between $1 and $2 USD per day.
To perhaps help put it all into perspective, the Government of Liberia's entire annual budget (for a country of 4.2 million people) is typically the same (and sometimes less than) the annual budget allocated to run just one 'National Health Service' (NHS) hospital of a large town / averaged sized city in the UK.
- Lack of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) at various remote locations / remote county clinics & hospitals (albeit with plenty of PPE likely available within the more major conurbations). Remembering that this stuff costs money to procure, takes time to obtain, and equally time to implement / logistics.
- Lack of training (and budgetary constraints therein) for medical staff (especially nurses), remembering that their level of training will likely be commensurate with their treatment of specific & localised medical conditions (e.g. they're typically only used to dealing with the likes of malaria, typhoid, midwifery, etc).
- The speed of events / infections overtaking all of the above!
Coupled with this, a lot a West African 'health workers' have only rudimentary levels of education themselves (remembering that having all of ones teachers either run away and / or be murdered, during what amounts to almost 14 years of civil war - i.e. in Liberia - doesn't exactly help consolidate ones education during ones formative years... and ones typical 'nurse' in West Africa is almost certainly not at the same standard as, say, an A&E triage nurse in the UK... that said, the various Nurses, Doctors, plus various heath workers, in West Africa, are undoubtedly doing their v.best against almost impossible odds, and therein I, for one, have the utmost respect towards them for their integrity, commitment, and bravery in their tackling of this disease).
Imho, the majority of people whom might read this thread are unlikely to have ever experienced of the levels of poverty that we're talking about here (i.e. specific to West Africa), it being a region where the vast majority are surviving on a hand-to-mouth existence of between $1 and $2 USD per day.
To perhaps help put it all into perspective, the Government of Liberia's entire annual budget (for a country of 4.2 million people) is typically the same (and sometimes less than) the annual budget allocated to run just one 'National Health Service' (NHS) hospital of a large town / averaged sized city in the UK.
