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2014 Ebola Outbreak Essay

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An Overview on the 2014 Ebola Outbreak 2014 saw one of the deadliest outbreaks of the Ebola virus ever recorded. The virus, while usually causing smaller outbreaks in Sub-Saharan Africa in relatively rural areas, hit the figurative jackpot when it spread to densely-populated urban centers in West African countries such as Guinea and Liberia. Since March, 2014, thousands of people have contracted the disease, with many cases turning fatal as a result of inadequate resources and institutional failure in trying to contain the outbreak. A global panic ensued, with citizens and policymakers in developed countries worried about the disease spreading beyond West Africa. But how concerned should they be? This paper will give an overview of the disease, …show more content…

Ebola virus disease is brought on through infection with a virus from the Filoviridae family. The disease, which mainly affects primates, was first discovered in 1976 in Zaire (what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). Since the mid 1990s, there have been intermittent outbreaks in Sub-Saharan Africa, primarily in communities surrounding the Ebola river in the DRC. Researchers believe that the viruses associated with Ebola is primarily animal-borne, although there is still some uncertainty around what the natural host reservoir is (“About Ebola Virus Disease”). Because of this, it is still difficult to identify where and how a virus outbreak in humans first occurs. The virus spreads among humans primarily through direct contact with bodily fluids of infected persons or with contaminated objects such as syringes- not, critically, through airborne, waterborne, or (generally) foodborne reservoirs. During an outbreak, individuals at higher risk of contracting the disease are family members of an infected patient and healthcare workers. The disease is known to spread rapidly in hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare facilities, especially where medical equipment and protective clothing to help guard against infection is either unavailable to care personnel or used and disposed of improperly. Once people have recovered from the disease, they can no longer spread infection to others

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