http://www.thedailybeast.com/articl...atmosphere-in-west-africa-as-apocalyptic.html
At an emergency hearing Thursday, leaders of the fight against Ebola gave updates on the situation in Africa and the future of the deadly disease?s possible spread.
At an emergency hearing in Washington Thursday afternoon, major players in the fight against Ebola in West Africa addressed the outbreak that has stolen the lives of more than 900. Leaders from health agencies and humanitarian efforts addressed the need for increased support as one called the current state of affairs in West Africa ?apocalyptic.?
snip...
The outbreak is getting worse.
Already an unprecedented outbreak, CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden says the number of infected and killed by Ebola will likely soon outnumber all other Ebola outbreaks in the past 32 years combined. According to the CDC, there have already been more than 1,700 suspected and confirmed cases of Ebola in West Africa, and more than 900 deaths?numbers which Frieden later called ?too foggy? to be definitive. Ken Isaacs, the Vice President of Program and Government Relations for Samaritan?s Purse (SIM), painted an even bleaker picture. According to SIM, West Africa has counted 1,711 diagnoses and 932 deaths, already, which could represent only a small fraction of the actual number. ?We believe that these numbers represent just 25-50 percent of what is happening,? said Isaacs.
The atmosphere in West Africa is ?apocalyptic.?
In a six-hour meeting with the president of Liberia last week, Isaacs said SIM workers watched as the ?somber? officials explained the gravity of the situation in their countries, where hundreds lie dead in the streets. ?It has an atmosphere of apocalypse,? Isaacs said of the Liberia Ministry of Health?s status updates. ?Bodies lying in the street ? gangs threatening to burn down hospitals. I believe this disease has the potential to be a national security risk for many nations. Our response has been a failure.? Isaacs says that the epidemic is inciting panic worldwide that, in his opinion, may soon be warranted. ?We have to fight it now here or we?re going to have to fight it somewhere else.?
snip...
The international response has been disastrous.
Isaacs, head of the humanitarian agency for which Writebol and Brantly worked, vehemently condemned the international community for a response that he considers both delayed and insufficient. ?The disease is uncontained and out of control, the international response has been a failure,? he said. With three of the poorest nations in the world currently affected, West Africa is extremely ill-prepared for the disaster?a fact, which Issacs argued, necessitates more response. ?The ministries of health in these countries do not have the capacity to handle this. If a mechanism is not found the world will be effectively relegating the containment of this disease to three of the poorest nations in the world,? he said, adding later: ?Is the world willing to let the public health of the world be in their hands??
snip...
The disease could spread to other countries.Isaacs, whose urgings to Congress about the urgency for a better response prompted Thursday?s meeting, is gravely concerned about the future. After first observing the outbreak in April, he?s watched the disease spread furiously across West Africa with little to no effective international support. ?I think we are going to see death tolls in numbers that we can?t imagine,? said Isaacs. ?If we do not fight and contain this disease, we will be fighting this and containing this in multiple countries across the world. The cat is, most likely, already out of the bag.?
At an emergency hearing Thursday, leaders of the fight against Ebola gave updates on the situation in Africa and the future of the deadly disease?s possible spread.
At an emergency hearing in Washington Thursday afternoon, major players in the fight against Ebola in West Africa addressed the outbreak that has stolen the lives of more than 900. Leaders from health agencies and humanitarian efforts addressed the need for increased support as one called the current state of affairs in West Africa ?apocalyptic.?
snip...
The outbreak is getting worse.
Already an unprecedented outbreak, CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden says the number of infected and killed by Ebola will likely soon outnumber all other Ebola outbreaks in the past 32 years combined. According to the CDC, there have already been more than 1,700 suspected and confirmed cases of Ebola in West Africa, and more than 900 deaths?numbers which Frieden later called ?too foggy? to be definitive. Ken Isaacs, the Vice President of Program and Government Relations for Samaritan?s Purse (SIM), painted an even bleaker picture. According to SIM, West Africa has counted 1,711 diagnoses and 932 deaths, already, which could represent only a small fraction of the actual number. ?We believe that these numbers represent just 25-50 percent of what is happening,? said Isaacs.
The atmosphere in West Africa is ?apocalyptic.?
In a six-hour meeting with the president of Liberia last week, Isaacs said SIM workers watched as the ?somber? officials explained the gravity of the situation in their countries, where hundreds lie dead in the streets. ?It has an atmosphere of apocalypse,? Isaacs said of the Liberia Ministry of Health?s status updates. ?Bodies lying in the street ? gangs threatening to burn down hospitals. I believe this disease has the potential to be a national security risk for many nations. Our response has been a failure.? Isaacs says that the epidemic is inciting panic worldwide that, in his opinion, may soon be warranted. ?We have to fight it now here or we?re going to have to fight it somewhere else.?
snip...
The international response has been disastrous.
Isaacs, head of the humanitarian agency for which Writebol and Brantly worked, vehemently condemned the international community for a response that he considers both delayed and insufficient. ?The disease is uncontained and out of control, the international response has been a failure,? he said. With three of the poorest nations in the world currently affected, West Africa is extremely ill-prepared for the disaster?a fact, which Issacs argued, necessitates more response. ?The ministries of health in these countries do not have the capacity to handle this. If a mechanism is not found the world will be effectively relegating the containment of this disease to three of the poorest nations in the world,? he said, adding later: ?Is the world willing to let the public health of the world be in their hands??
snip...
The disease could spread to other countries.Isaacs, whose urgings to Congress about the urgency for a better response prompted Thursday?s meeting, is gravely concerned about the future. After first observing the outbreak in April, he?s watched the disease spread furiously across West Africa with little to no effective international support. ?I think we are going to see death tolls in numbers that we can?t imagine,? said Isaacs. ?If we do not fight and contain this disease, we will be fighting this and containing this in multiple countries across the world. The cat is, most likely, already out of the bag.?
