EBOLA:
Quarantine to control the outbreak

One evening, as I sat on the couch relaxing from the stressful day I had; my eleven years old daughter came to me terrified saying, "mom I'm afraid, the Ebola is here". I immediately comforted her while silently worrying about the virus to myself. That made me pursue information about the virus and learn how to protect my family from the outbreak. Ebola is an awful virus which has many symptoms among bleeding causing death. There is currently no vaccine or cure for Ebola, the cost to treat the virus can be very high, and many medical centers may be ill-equipped to handle Ebola patients. After learning how deadly the virus can be that's when I decided that anyone entering the country from affected countries should be on a mandatory quarantine for twenty-one days to ensure they are Ebola free before possibly exposing any Americans to the virus. Ebola, also known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever, was discovered in 1976 near the Ebola River; thus how the virus was named. Since its discovery outbreaks have occurred intermittently of the years in Africa. The natural host of the Ebola virus remains unknown to this day. Although, many researchers believe that the virus likely came from bats. There are a total of five strains of the virus; four of which are known to infect humans. Nonhuman primates such as monkey and gorillas can be infected by all five strains. According to the CDC, scientist believe that the first patient becomes infected through contact with an infected animal, such as bat or monkey. Once a human is infected by the virus the virus can be transmitted from person-to-person through direct contact with the infected blood, bodily fluids, objects (like needles and syringes), or infected mammals. Ebola is not spread through the air, water, or food. There is also no evidence that the virus can be spread by mosquitoes or other insects. Signs and symptoms of Ebola normally appear anywhere from day two through day twenty-one after exposure, but the average is eight to ten days. Symptoms of Ebola include fever, severe headache, muscle pain, weakness, fatigue, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and unexplained bleeding or bruising. There is currently no FDA approved vaccine or medicine available for Ebola. Although, there is no FDA-approved vaccine or medicine currently available to treat Ebola; the symptoms and complications can be treated as they appear. By providing patients intravenous fluids, maintaining oxygen status and blood pressure, and treating other infections if they occur. With early treatment of the symptoms that appear chance of survival significantly improves. Patients that recover from Ebola virus develop antibodies that last for at least ten years. Currently, one out of every two people who have contracted the virus during this 2014 outbreak have died. Many people in Africa have perished due to the lack of medical and financial resources needed to overcome the virus. Patients infected by the virus can make a full recovery with good medical treatment and patient’s immune response. The 2014 Ebola epidemic is the largest in history, widely affecting many countries in West Africa. There were a small number of cases in Nigeria and Senegal. The United States has only had to date a total of seven confirmed cases of Ebola in the U.S. which include; five imported cases, resulting in two deaths, and two cases acquired locally in healthcare workers that helped to care for the first Ebola patient that traveled from an infected country via a commercial flight. The remaining five Americans that were infected by the virus; all were treated and placed under quarantine at different hospital around the U.S. Weeks later they have been tested and are now virus free and released from quarantine. While the death rates of the virus in West Africa are much more prevalent; many would say there a stigma of financial and racial biases in the treatment of Americans versus West Africans. Lubin said, “Many have already written about the glaring global health inequities evident by the ability of privileged Americans to be quickly airlifted back to the U.S. for experimental treatment while the death count in West Africa ticks up at an alarming pace. The three white Americans treated at Emory University Hospital and Nebraska Medical Center survived. Why didn't Duncan?” here Lubin is displaying her concern about inequalities in the care Thomas Eric Duncan received or lack thereof; based primarily on his race and finances. She continued to explain how a history of racism has damaged the world of medicine and the way they choose who to save. Lubin states that, “Health disparities are costly not only in lives but in the financial burden they impose on individuals as well as the health care system. Differential treatment of racial and ethnic minorities often results in delays in care, less aggressive treatment compared to whites with similar presentation of disease or symptoms, and worse health outcomes.” There are organizations that have been very instrumental in the containment and treatment of patients affected by Ebola in West Africa. So far, Direct Relief has sent nineteen emergency shipments valued over seven million dollars to more than 1,000 hospitals and clinics in West Africa. Another group named Concern Worldwide Inc. has also been doing their part to help in the Ebola crisis by providing a wide variety of services. They provide education, support health centers and burial teams, support government, and they continue all existing programs offered prior to the epidemic. Even with a few companies working to help the people affected by Ebola there is still a lot that can be done. I was surprised to learn that even though in America we have access to more resources; our healthcare system is not prepared to care for patients of Ebola or any other deadly infectious disease. The associated press conducted a poll that revealed; “Supplies, training and funds are all limited, and there are concerns about whether health care workers would refuse to treat Ebola patients. Following the death of a man suffering from Ebola in a Texas hospital and the subsequent infection of two of his nurses, medical officials and politicians are scurrying to fix preparedness shortcomings. But remedies cannot be implemented overnight. And fixes will be expensive.” Expensive isn’t the right word to describe how much money has been spent to contain the Ebola virus and it will take millions more to find a cure and vaccine. The U.S. alone through funding and pledges have contributed over 750 million dollars towards Ebola. After thoroughly researching Ebola and the effect it has on global health, finance, and safety. I stand by the decision that anyone entering the country from affected countries should be on a mandatory quarantine for twenty-one days to ensure they are Ebola free before possibly exposing any Americans to the virus.

References:

2014 Ebola Outbreak in West Africa. (2014). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention online. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/2014-west-africa/index.html

Donn, J., & Burke, G. (2014, January 1). AP IMPACT: US health care unprepared for Ebola. Retrieved from http://finance.yahoo.com/news/ap-impact-us-health-care-unprepared-ebola-164830696.html

Ebola Response Updates from FDA. (2014). U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Retrieved from http://www.fda.gov/EmergencyPreparedness/Counterterrorism/MedicalCountermeasures/ucm

Fauci, A. S. (2014). Ebola—underscoring the global disparities in health care resources. New England Journal of Medicine, 371(12), 1084-1086.

Glassman, A., & Raghavan, S. (2014). How Much Is Actually Being Spent on Ebola? Retrieved from http://www.cgdev.org/blog/how-much-actually-being-spent-ebola

Lubin, J. (2014). Unequal Treatment? Race, Ebola and the Tragic Death of Thomas Eric Duncan. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/judy-lubin/unequal-treatment-race- eb_b_5955786.html

Reardon, S. (2014). Ebola treatments caught in limbo. Nature, 511(7511), 520.

Team, W. E. R. (2014). Ebola virus disease in West Africa—the first 9 months of the epidemic and forward projections. N Engl J Med, 371(16), 1481-95.