Until this year, Ebola had never really been introduced to a modern medical facility. The one patient who died in the US, Liberian national Thomas Duncan, was not diagnosed early, like all the other survivors treated in the US. Tragically, Duncan wasnt diagnosed early enough when his symptoms started. Though youve probably seen Ebola all over American news in the few past weeks making it seem as though Ebola is going to kill us all and we should all panic and hide indoors, the Ebola virus isnt new. The reason you are seeing increased hysteria American news coverage of the current outbreak is because for the 1st time a few Americans have contracted and been treated for Ebola in the United States. Why is it that only when there is a slim possibility of an American dying from Ebola all of a sudden Americans seem to care about this disease? This should bother you. Enhanced medical support and supplies are needed most for those affected living in the heart of the outbreak. Ebola hemorrhagic fever was first noted in Zaire (currently, the Democratic Republic of the Congo or DRC) in 1976. The original outbreak was in a village near the Ebola River after which the disease was named. Since 1976, there have been multiple outbreaks of Ebola virus, and five strains have been identified; four of the strains are responsible for the high death rates. The four Ebola strains are termed as follows: Zaire, Sudan, Tai Forest, and Bundibugyo virus, with Zaire being the most lethal strain. The virus causing the 2014 west African outbreak belongs to the Zaire species. The current outbreak in west Africa, (first cases documented in March 2014), is the largest and most complex Ebola outbreak since the Ebola virus was first discovered in 1976. There have been more cases and deaths in this outbreak than all others combined. The most severely affected countries, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia have very weak health systems, lacking sufficient human and infrastructural resources, having only recently emerged from long periods of conflict and instability.
Posted on: Sat, 25 Oct 2014 01:34:00 +0000
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