As of July 8, there have been 888 confirmed cases of Ebola with 539 deaths in West Africa, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The outbreak has spread to three countries thus far — Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia — and is the most severe ever recorded. This is the first time these countries have to manage an outbreak of the Ebola virus.
Since March, the volunteer organization Doctors Without Borders (Medecines Sans Frontieres) has been attempting to contain the Ebola outbreak. On June 23, the group declared that it had reached its limits and that a massive deployment is needed to continue fighting this outbreak.
"The epidemic is out of control," said Dr. Bart Janssens, MSF director of operations. "With the appearance of new sites in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, there is a real risk of it spreading to other areas."
What is Ebola?
Ebola virus disease, formerly known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever, is a "severe, often fatal illness, with case fatality rate up to 90 percent," according to WHO. The disease is characterized by sudden onset of fever and malaise accompanied by more nonspecific symptoms such as headache, vomiting and diarrhea.
Due to the nonspecific symptoms, the key to identification is through recent contact with people in contaminated areas. The incubation time after in infection is 2-21 days until symptoms may become evident. Only in 30-50 percent of the affected patients experience hemorrhagic symptoms, however in severe and fatal forms, multiorgan dysfunction is common and usually leads to death.
The virus was first identified in 1976, and there have been 20 outbreaks since. The Ebola virus appears to reside in a wildlife reservoir, but it has not been definitively identified. The current evidence supports that the fruit bat may be one of the likely reservoirs.
Possible U.S. outbreak?
The current outbreak appears to be spreading into other countries for a variety of socioeconomic reasons. One of the biggest concerns is the high mobility of the people infected across porous borders. Despite the potential mobility, they tend to stay with in small geographical regions and are not likely to travel via mass transportation, especially airplanes.
Considering the highly contagious nature of the virus, the public health risk could be enormous. Officials from most air carriers have been attending meetings with government and healthcare officials to stay informed. They have been training their staff on how to identify potentially infected people and how to isolate them immediately, as containment is the key. Currently, there are no travel restrictions or warnings for the regions.
Most public health experts in the United States do not have a high concern for a significant outbreak. The current train of thought is that the healthcare system in the U.S. is much more sophisticated and capable of containing and isolating individuals more successfully.
Therefore, it is imperative for healthcare workers, especially first responders and emergency personnel, to be vigilant, knowledgeable and aware of possible infected persons. Although the symptoms are benign and similar to many other disease processes, the key is recent travel, especially to the affected region and/or contact with such a person.
Conclusion
The current situation in West Africa continues to tax the healthcare resources of the region and the volunteers of Doctors Without Borders. They are in critical need of willing workers to do the legwork of monitoring and tracking this outbreak in an effort to contain it.
To learn more about their efforts, please visit Doctors Without Borders. Remember, with any disease, containment begins with each of us, so wash your hands and be safe.
