MHSC
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What the Ebola outbreak means for the world
09/06/14 10:47 AM?UPDATED 09/06/14 10:48 AM
By Dr. Margaret Chan, M.D.
The outbreak of Ebola that is affecting parts of Africa is the worst ever seen. The cumulative number of cases stands at nearly 4,000, with 2,000 of those resulting in death ? figures that surpass the numbers seen in all previous outbreaks combined. This is an unforgiving virus that shows no mercy. To date, nearly 300 medical staff have been infected, and around half of them have died.
The three hardest-hit countries, where cases now number in the thousands and where the capital cities are affected, are in West Africa: Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. These countries, which have just emerged from years of civil war, are among the poorest in the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the three countries have only one to two doctors per 100,000 people. Guinea?s neighbor, Senegal, connected by an extremely porous border, has also announced a case of Ebola.
...
This fast-moving outbreak has a number of unprecedented features and is delivering one surprise after another.
What we see is this: Decimated families and communities, abandoned villages, food and fuel shortages, uncollected bodies, two thousand fresh and recent graves, a rising number of orphans, and hospitals overflowing or shut down entirely.
In some areas, no health services whatsoever are functioning ? not for malaria, or tuberculosis, or HIV. That also includes childhood diarrheal disease and pneumonia, and even safe childbirth. No health services for anything.
....
Finally, the world is ill-prepared to respond to any severe, sustained, and threatening public health emergency. This was the conclusion reached by a panel of experts commissioned to review events during the 2009 influenza pandemic and distill lessons for the future.
With Ebola, that prediction has come true. The world must stop watching and start acting ? on an enormously larger scale.
Dr. Margaret Chan is the director-general of the World Health Organization.
http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/what-the-ebola-outbreak-means-the-world
09/06/14 10:47 AM?UPDATED 09/06/14 10:48 AM
By Dr. Margaret Chan, M.D.
The outbreak of Ebola that is affecting parts of Africa is the worst ever seen. The cumulative number of cases stands at nearly 4,000, with 2,000 of those resulting in death ? figures that surpass the numbers seen in all previous outbreaks combined. This is an unforgiving virus that shows no mercy. To date, nearly 300 medical staff have been infected, and around half of them have died.
The three hardest-hit countries, where cases now number in the thousands and where the capital cities are affected, are in West Africa: Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. These countries, which have just emerged from years of civil war, are among the poorest in the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the three countries have only one to two doctors per 100,000 people. Guinea?s neighbor, Senegal, connected by an extremely porous border, has also announced a case of Ebola.
...
This fast-moving outbreak has a number of unprecedented features and is delivering one surprise after another.
What we see is this: Decimated families and communities, abandoned villages, food and fuel shortages, uncollected bodies, two thousand fresh and recent graves, a rising number of orphans, and hospitals overflowing or shut down entirely.
In some areas, no health services whatsoever are functioning ? not for malaria, or tuberculosis, or HIV. That also includes childhood diarrheal disease and pneumonia, and even safe childbirth. No health services for anything.
....
Finally, the world is ill-prepared to respond to any severe, sustained, and threatening public health emergency. This was the conclusion reached by a panel of experts commissioned to review events during the 2009 influenza pandemic and distill lessons for the future.
With Ebola, that prediction has come true. The world must stop watching and start acting ? on an enormously larger scale.
Dr. Margaret Chan is the director-general of the World Health Organization.
http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/what-the-ebola-outbreak-means-the-world