The Ebola virus is deadly and it is the most dangerous out of five viruses in the genus Ebolavirus, family Filoviridae, and order Mononegavirales. Fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family are considered to be the natural host of the Ebola virus. According to the World Health Organisation, the Ebola Virus Disease is one of the world’s most virulent diseases, with a case fatality rate of 90%. Despite improved control measures, the recent outbreaks of the disease has triggered a lot of speculation and fear, most especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the disease has witnessed increasing outbreak due to the presence of tropical rain forests. In an epidemiological context, the basic reproduction number, Ro, is the number of secondary cases generated on average by an index infectious case in the absence of effective control interventions and in an uninfected population. The R0 will help determine whether or not an infectious disease can spread through a population. The larger the value of R0, the harder it is to control the epidemic i.e. if R01 the infection will be able to spread into the population. Therefore, for Ebola to be completely eradicated, R0 must equal zero. Usually, it is more difficult for viruses with a non human reservoir to qualify for possible eradication efforts, e.g. diseases like polio and small pox lack non-human reservoir hence, have been easier to eradicate. The typical value of R0 for Ebola is 1 to 4. In 1976, the first ever outbreak occurred in Democratic Republic of Congo with over 300 cases identified in which 280 persons died from the disease, leading to a case fatality of 88 per cent. After this, several other outbreaks were experienced across countries including Sudan, Gabon, Cote d’Ivoire and Uganda. In 2000, there was an outbreak in Uganda that affected 425 persons and caused 224 deaths with a case fatality of 53 per cent. Also, the following year 2011, Uganda experienced a mild outbreak with just one infected case that eventually died. In 2012, two outbreaks were later reported in Uganda. Although, the disease became apparent in the 1970s, this recent 2014 outbreak across Africa is said to be the largest outbreak yet, affecting countries like Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Nigeria. It has recorded the highest number of cases and deaths. At present, there has been a total of over 1700 suspected cases identified and more than 960 deaths in these listed countries. Compared to past outbreaks, there are now better healthcare relief measures provided for the affected regions to adequately manage the disease, especially with the development of an Ebola specific drug approved by the World Health Organisation. (WHO Media Centre, EBOLA virus disease, h
Posted on: Thu, 18 Sep 2014 01:53:06 +0000