An essay on the Ebola crisis control

Published under category: Writing Ideas | 2014-09-09 06:51:50 UTC

Context: Current affairs

Ebola hemorrhagic fever 2014 outbreak in west and central Africa is one of the most fatal diseases known to man. While Ebola has been known for some time, the 2014 outbreak has been able to defeat the containment efforts of the international community and local governments. There are several reasons why the disease overtook the resident healthcare systems in the latest outbreaks. Lack of preparedness prior to the outbreak and the slow response of the international community are some of the reasons for the runaway spreading of the disease. The 2014 ebola crisis is not the first fatal outbreak of the disease. However, all other outbreaks have been less widespread and a fewer number of fatalities have been recorded. In the most recent case, the first detection of the disease was in an infant in Guinea. The disease quickly spread to the infant’s mother, sister, and grandmother and a hospital worker. Once the virus got to the hospital workers, it then had the opportunity to quickly spread to other people seeking treatment. Other outbreaks did not as long as the present one and were not as contagious. Ebolavirus is not well studied, so the cause of the virulent nature of the present strains affecting West Africa is not well documented. However, several factors contributed to the runaway ebolavirus spread in 2014. The greatest and most specific reasons for spread of the current Ebola outbreaks are the states of healthcare systems in the West African countries where it was first reported. Most of these countries have underfunded and underequipped healthcare systems. Healthcare workers first handled the outbreaks without any protective gear and this was a major contributor to spread of the virus. Secondly, ignorance of the citizens of the affected areas, who sometimes handled patients and bodies of the diseased without protection and due care, caused spread to immediate family members. Local administrations also ignored the outbreak, perhaps with the hope that the disease would soon fade away just like some of the previous cases, until the situation proved to be out of hand. Effort to mitigate the Ebola disaster is still being consolidated, but not yet at its peak. Unpreparedness for the ebola outbreak has been witnessed even in countries when no cases have been reported. This is evident in some places where a vaccine had been made but has not been enough for all the patients. Without proper convalescence care, the fatality rate of ebola hemorrhagic fever stands close to 90 percent. Currently, few people have recovered from the disease, among them, two American doctors who contracted the contagion when working with victims of ebola in West Africa. As of 20th April 2014, an estimated more than 2000 people have died from the ebola fever, and the rate of spread is on the rise. Only development of an effective vaccine will be a permanent solution to the ebola problem. According to world health organization and health workers in the affected areas, efforts to control ebola have to be scaled up if the disease is to be contained. WRITING ESSAYS ON CURRENT AFFAIRS The above writing is an essay on current affairs and the issue at hand is the 2014 ebola outbreak in West Africa, its history, progression, and the outlook at this moment. Often, essays on current affairs are not conclusive because the subject of discussion is usually changing state and progressing. Therefore, the state of affairs is not reported with finality. However, in such essays, especially academic papers, students are encouraged to suggest and expected course of events into the future in their concluding paragraph. ORDER PLAGIARISM FREE PAPER