West African Ebola Epidemic by Melody Duong

 

            It is the summer of 2014, and you decide to go on a mission trip to help build elementary schools in a small village located in the heart of Liberia, a poverty-stricken country in West Africa. After spending two weeks of interacting with the children and families of the village, you start to feel very fatigued, experience constant diarrhea, and your fever rises to dangerous levels (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). But, these horrible symptoms are not just felt by you. Everyone in the village is starting to show these same symptoms, and the children and elderly are the ones who are dying first. You hear of neighboring countries and villages experiencing a deadly outbreak of the Ebola virus, and although you have never heard of this disease before in your life, you make the startling realization that you and the entire village have already begun to fall victim to this virus.

            Outside of the village, there are news reports of this deadly and fast-spreading virus that has affected most of the West African countries of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). The disease gets contracted by everyone in its path and kills most with nothing able to stop its ruthless destruction. The scary part is that there are no reliable vaccinations or treatments for the disease yet, and it won’t be until the end of 2016 that there will be a vaccination that actually works. Until then, the number of victims, including you, begin to climb at alarming rates. The evolution of the Ebola epidemic will be explored and its effects on the West African population will be analyzed.

History

            The Ebola virus first emerged in 1976 in Central Africa in the countries of South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (World Health Organization). The disease was named after the Ebola River where it first appeared in a village along the riverbank. The West African Ebola epidemic in 2014 was the most serious and largest outbreak since its discovery almost forty years prior. The first cases of the West African outbreak was in December 2013 in Guinea and the number of cases grew rapidly in March 2014, spreading to the neighboring countries of Liberia and Sierra Leone. According to the World Health Organization, this outbreak led to approximately 11,300 deaths.

            Many scientists believe that the fruit bats are natural hosts of the Ebola virus (World Health Organization). Humans contract the virus when they come into close contact with the blood or bodily secretions of the infected animal that are usually already dead in the wild. The virus is then transmitted via direct contact throughout the population such as skin contact with blood, secretions, or contaminated surfaces. It takes anywhere from two to twenty-one days for the virus to show symptoms which include fever, muscle pain, and fatigue at first, then followed by vomiting, diarrhea, and impaired kidney and liver function.

            In December 2016, the World Health Organization confirmed that the experimental Ebola vaccination, known as rVSV-ZEBOV, has been undergoing major tests and is found to be highly effective in preventing infection (World Health Organization). The trials that were conducted involved over 11,000 people, and of the 5,800 people who received the vaccine, none of them contracted the virus after ten or more days following the vaccination.

Social Effects & Impact

            Since the Ebola virus is transmitted through direct contact, many health care workers, care givers, and even those who buried the deceased were extremely vulnerable to contracting the virus. At the beginning of the outbreak, strict safety precautions were not taken, and as a result, many of the people who cared for the sick or handled dead bodies ended up contracting the disease as well.

With the deaths of 11,300 people during the outbreak, the lives of children have been greatly affected. According to a UNICEF article that discusses the social impact of the outbreak, “Some 16,600 children are registered as having lost one or both parents, or their primary caregivers to Ebola in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, but less than 3 per cent have had to be placed outside family or community care” because the amount of support for these children from extended families has been incredible. Manuel Fontaine, the Regional Director for UNICEF stated that, “the strength of kinship ties and the extraordinary resilience of communities” is necessary to protect these children (UNICEF). It is also very important to identify the children who are emotionally vulnerable due to the loss of their relatives and to respond by providing support for them “in a region where social welfare and child protection were already weak before the outbreak” (1). The roughly 2,500 Ebola survivors who are now immune to the disease were trained to help care for the sick and quarantined children because it is important that the children continue to have human interaction so they do not experience emotional instability due to isolation (1).

Education for children during the outbreak was also greatly affected, and schools were forced to close for a seven month period in 2014. This caused about five million children to go without education in this region during the peak of the epidemic (UNICEF). The schools slowly reopened in 2015 and basic safety measures and hygiene habits have been taught to the children in order to keep them safe.

The reason why Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone were so hard-hit by the outbreak was because these countries have “weak health systems, lack human and infrastructural resources, and have only recently emerged from long periods of conflict and instability” (World Health Organization). As these countries continue to recover from the devastating outbreak, international organizations are continuing to help train the people in building healthier hygiene habits and give aid in preventing epidemics, or at least provide solutions to combatting future outbreaks.

The United States had four cases of the Ebola virus in 2014 due to the West African outbreak. Every individual had contracted the virus from recently travelling to the affected regions or had provided care for an individual who had contracted the virus in West Africa. Only one individual in the U.S. died from contracting the Ebola virus. Fortunately, there has not been any other cases of Ebola in the U.S. since November 2014 (Center for Disease Control and Prevention).

Examples of the Epidemic

            Dr. Kent Brantly is an American doctor who traveled to Liberia in 2014 right before the peak of the outbreak. He was one of the individuals who had contracted the virus and returned back to the US for treatment (WITN). During his treatment in an isolation room, he wrote a statement saying that he, “held the hands of countless individuals as this terrible disease took their lives away from them. [He] witnessed the horror first-hand, and [he] can still remember every face and name”. During Brantly’s treatment he received blood from a 14-year-old boy who was treated by Brantly and survived (Silverman). Franklin Graham, the president of Samaritan’s Purse, a charity group, stated that, “The young boy and his family wanted to help the doctor who saved his life” (1).

            Saa Sabas is a former medical worker in Guinea who contracted the virus for thirteen days and survived the illness. In an interview with Julian Morgan, a journalist, Sabas stated that, “that [his] throat was so sore that [he] couldn’t eat. [He’s] had fever before, and [he has] had diarrhea before. All of that, of course, made [him] weak” (witn). After Sabas recovered from Ebola, he feared that people

would avoid contact with him, knowing that he had contracted the virus. He recalled that when he returned, “they took [his] hand to prove to other people that [he] wasn’t contagious anymore, in order to avoid stigmatization. Some people were scared, and holding [his] hand was a great symbol of [his] recovery.” He continues to travel to raise awareness about Ebola and encourages others to take immediate action and go to the hospital right away for any unusual symptoms which could possibly be the Ebola virus or other deadly illnesses. 

Solutions

            Since December of 2016, an experimental Ebola vaccination has been concluded to be highly successful in preventing the contraction of the virus. During the experimental period which involved over 11,000 people, about 5,800 people were given the vaccination ("Final Trial Results Confirm Ebola Vaccine Provides High Protection against Disease"). According to Dr. Mahon, the CDC’s leader of the Sierra Leone Trial to Introduce Vaccine Against Ebola (also known as STRIVE), the vaccination is a “vector vaccine, meaning that a small piece of Ebola virus that cannot cause Ebola is inserted into a different virus that’s harmless” (1).  Every person who received the vaccination did not contract the virus after ten or more days. Mahon further stated that the STRIVE study concluded “there were no serious adverse events, which means serious adverse events related to the vaccine. And so there was no hospitalization, no deaths, no events that would cause a permanent disability, and so forth” (1). This was the first vaccination in the world found to be greatly effective against Ebola.

Another solution to the Ebola virus is to prevent traveling to areas that are affected or have a high risk of becoming affected. The United States did a fairly good job in preventing the virus from spreading in the United States. Traveling to West Africa was highly limited to health professionals only, and testing and treatment for several weeks was required before the person is allowed to return to the United States (“Signs and Symptoms”). There were very few cases of infected Americans, but they all had contracted the virus due to traveling to West Africa or came into contact with a person who traveled to West Africa. Those patients were quarantined and treated in highly controlled hospital settings to prevent the virus from spreading to uncontrollable levels throughout the population.

It is also highly advised that people in affected areas practice good hygiene to prevent themselves from contracting the Ebola virus (“Signs and Symptoms”). Effective hygiene practices include washing hands frequently and avoiding contact with dead animals and raw meat coming from those animals (1). Another important prevention method is to avoid contact with blood or bodily fluids of infected humans as well as medical equipment, clothes, or the burials of deceased victims (1). All of these solutions and prevention methods need to be carefully followed in order to prevent the contraction of the virus because once the virus is inside the human body, treatment is often very difficult if advanced hospital care is not available.

An international coalition of almost fifty countries have joined the Global Health Security Agency, or GHSA. Thomas Frieden, the director of CDC, wrote in an article that described GHSA as a program that helps to ensure that all countries have the capability to “prevent, detect, and rapidly respond to infectious disease threats – protecting these countries and protecting Americans from deadly, global outbreaks” (“CDC Director: A Global Plan to Prevent, Detect, and Respond to the next Killer Disease”). He stated that it is important that the United States has a full commitment to this international effort because “the health and safety of Americans is inextricably linked of the health and safety of the world” (1). We, as a country, have to put in the money and effort to help others help keep us healthy because citizens in the US are known for traveling to every part of the world, so exposure to any illness can have a problematic effect to our society if we are not cautious. Frieden then concludes his article with the empowering statement, “When it comes to the public health capacity to find and stop diseases, the stronger other countries are, the safer we are here at home” (1).

Camus & Absurdity

            If Albert Camus was still alive to witness the West African Ebola Epidemic, he would believe that the Ebola outbreak was an example of an absurdity of life. He believed that life has a purpose, and it is absurd that the victims did not get a chance to fulfill their purpose in life. The purpose they had was to die before a vaccination was developed. So does that mean that their death was for the purpose of the development of a vaccination to prevent others from dying from it later on? Perhaps, this is how Camus would have viewed the epidemic.

            Camus would have also seen the outbreak as having no apparent motive for its existence. He highly valued life, but believed that many people did not have a purpose in their lives. He might have seen the victims’ deaths as punishment from the universe for not having a better purpose in their lives before falling victim to the virus. To Camus, those victims must have not spent enough time trying to fulfill their purpose, and instead spent too much time accepting social norms and conforming to society. He would have also argued that those who fell victim actually had a choice and could have prevented their death. He believed in the saying, “Even when you are dying, you can choose how you die: in a panic or in acceptance, without forgiving or with forgiving, as an example for others or by sole concern for yourself” (Archie). People have the decision on how they die, but they chose to spend all of their time accepting social norms so the sudden and painful death they experienced was justified.

Conclusion

            You find yourself in a hospital bed alongside others who have fallen victim to this deadly virus. Men and women who are completely covered in Personal Protective Equipment gowns from head to toe, check your vital signs with thick gloves covering their cold hands. Luckily for you, after a few days have passed, your symptoms begin to improve because you managed to seek medical care early. It will be weeks until you are fully recovered, but you are thankful to be a part of the 40% survival rate for Ebola (“Signs and Symptoms”). Others around you were not so fortunate, and their weaker immune systems succumbed to the virus. Now that you are immune to the Ebola virus, you will never have to worry about getting sick from that virus again. When you finally regain your strength, you decide to take this new superpower of yours to help care for others in neighboring villages who are ill. You came to West Africa for a purpose and that was to build elementary schools for children, but you never would have thought that you would end up surviving such a deadly virus and caring for the sick.

Works Cited

Archie, John. "Philosophy 102: Introduction to Philosophical Inquiry Camus, "Man Provides Life's Meaning"." Camus on The Meaning of Life. P.L.E, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2017. 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Signs and Symptoms." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 02 Nov. 2014. Web. 18 Feb. 2017.

Cham, Kemo. "Interview: The Ebola Vaccine Trial in Sierra Leone." Politico SL. Politico SL, 15 Sept. 2016. Web. 16 Apr. 2017

Thomas, Frieden. "CDC Director: A Global Plan to Prevent, Detect, and Respond to the next Killer Disease." Fox News. FOX News Network, July-Aug. 2015. Web. 16 Apr. 2017

Morgans, Julian. "Interview with an Ebola Survivor." Vice. N.p., 6 Aug. 2014. Web. 06 Mar. 2017.

Silverman, Eric Aasen Lauren. "UPDATE: Kent Brantly, Doctor With Ebola, Is Back In U.S. After Evacuation From Liberia." KERA News. KERA News, 2 Aug. 2014. Web. 06 Mar. 2017.

UNICEF. "Impact of Ebola." UNICEF. UNICEF, 12 July 2016. Web. 06 Mar. 2017.

WITN, Witn. "Ebola Patient Describes First-Hand Account Of Outbreak." WITN.com. Gray Digital Media, 11 Aug. 2014. Web. 06 Mar. 2017.

World Health Organization. "Ebola Virus Disease." World Health Organization. World Health Organization, Jan. 2016. Web. 06 Mar. 2017.

World Health Organization. "Final Trial Results Confirm Ebola Vaccine Provides High Protection against Disease." World Health Organization. World Health Organization, 23 Dec. 2016. Web. 06 Mar. 2017.