Ebola, An end to life as we know it?

Ebola Virus

With a total of four thousand two hundred sixty nine cases in the most recent outbreak in West Africa and a death toll nearing twenty three hundred, do we really have running for our lives and entrenching ourselves in survival shelters? Ebola, the extremely lethal and nightmarish disease that the media will have you thinking that the end of human civilization as we know it is upon us. With movies and books sensationalizing and playing up infectious disease as the end of things as we know it, it is easy to be in panic about Ebola. And we have a lot of reasons to think that way too, with painful symptoms like fevers, headaches, diarrhea, and vomiting, as well as a mortality rate of over ninety percent.

            Ebola is spread through human-to-human contact with bodily fluids such as blood and vomit, as well as coming into contact with objects that are contaminated with these substances. The fact that Ebola can cause it’s victims spew bodily fluids everywhere makes it extremely efficient at spreading it self. Especially in the tight knit communities of South Africa where face-to-face contact and unsanitary environment is the norm, it makes it ripe for a viral disease like Ebola to spread among the population.

Progress of symptoms

            There are several ways to deal with Ebola. One option is to isolate and quarantine infected individuals from the general population so as not to spread the disease and to use sanitary to protection when dealing with them. At that point medical personnel can try to treat the infected or contain the infected individuals until the disease gets the best of them. There is currently no approved cure or vaccine for the Ebola virus and those infected can only hope that they are in the small percentage of victims who survive the virus. Even researchers do not know what factor allows the survivors to survive the infection. Before the outbreak in West Africa there was a relatively small amount of money being put in to the research for a cure on the Ebola virus as there was little fear of an outbreak in West Africa. And with the world being so connected by international trade and travel it almost begs for the disease to spread to other continents and claim more and more victims.

Workers in hazmat suits treating someone infected with Ebola

In my opinion we in America have very little to fear from the Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa. There are many factors that you have to take into account when you try to simulate an outbreak in a first world country. For one, our medical research and resources far eclipses that of West Africa’s, as well as having stricter travel regulations to get into and out of the country meaning we can better prevent someone from being infected and contain someone who is. Another advantage we have over West Africa is that we have the proper containment facilities with organizations like CDC that would make it extremely difficult to cause an outbreak of the Ebola virus from within. Then you have to take into account the disadvantages of the virus itself. The thing about Ebola is that it is so efficient at its job that it often kills its victims before they can spread the disease to others in the population. Another disadvantage is that it does not aerosolize which means that it cannot spread through the air, which makes it easier to contain. Also the disease is not communicable until the infected is symptomatic. This means even though someone who is infected with the virus can slip through relatively unnoticed and not even know they are infected, those they come into contact with prior to becoming symptomatic have no fear of being infected with the Ebola virus from that individual. Also with in light of the most recent outbreak many countries who are pledging money for research into a cure and vaccine for the Ebola Virus So contrary to books like “The Hot zone” and movies like “Contagion” and “World War Z” would have you believe and while the situation in Africa may be dire for those in the area, we in America with proper education and resources are actually very safe.