How an 'outbreak culture' worsened the 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic in West Africa

-
By Erin Blakemore

When Ebola broke out in West Africa in 2014, it spread with dizzying speed — and outwitted responders. By the time the epidemic ended in 2016, more than 28,000 people had been infected and 11,325 had died. It didn’t have to be that way, write Pardis Sabeti and Lara Salahi. In “Outbreak Culture: The Ebola Crisis and the Next Epidemic,” they uncover the chaos behind the world’s response to the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak, and posit how it could have been avoided.

Sabeti, a genetic researcher, was on a team that determined when and where Ebola first jumped from animals to humans. But as she collaborated with officials on the ground in West Africa, she noticed the response was uncoordinated. Interpersonal tensions brewed. Politics and logistics slowed down the response process. All too often, fear prevailed, with disastrous consequences.

Salahi, a journalist, and Sabeti make a case for what is called “outbreak culture,” a pernicious, toxic situation that evolves during the flare-up of an infectious disease. This culture thrives on denial, blame and mistrust. Ethics can fall to the wayside as bad actors use epidemics to bolster their careers; responders on the ground scramble for the resources they need.

It is as predictable as the plot of a bad movie — and it happens over and over again, the authors write.

Rooted in personal stories and testimonies, the book is a critical, poignant postmortem of the epidemic. But the authors aren’t content to just list the many failures of the last crisis. They lay out a plan to sidestep such outbreak cultures and allow organizations to coordinate, information to flow freely, and public health campaigns to thwart deadly diseases.

“The next epidemic demands better,” they conclude.

Their words are painfully timely. Africa faces another Ebola contagion — this time in an active war zone in Congo.

Read more

As Ebola worsens in Congo, U.S. stays out of war zone

Ebola in survivor’s family shows deadly virus’s lasting effects

How we got the story about monkeypox



https://ift.tt/2FFAX3x

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Russian lab containing smallpox and Ebola exploded - Vox.com

-
Image
Russia’s State Research Center of Virology, in the city of Koltsovo in Siberia, has one of the largest collections of dangerous viruses anywhere in the world. During the Cold War, the lab developed biological weapons and defenses against them, and it reportedly stored dangerous strains of smallpox, anthrax, and Ebola among other viruses. So lots of people were concerned when an explosion ripped through the facility on Monday. According to Russian independent media , the laboratory was undergoing repairs when a gas bottle exploded, sparking a 30-square-meter fire that left one worker severely burned. Glass throughout the building was reportedly destroyed in the blast, and the fire reportedly spread through the building’s ventilation system . The lab is one of only two in the world known to still have samples of smallpox, which was eradicated from the wild in 1977. The other is in the United States . Experts say that under certain circumstances, an explosion could lead to the releas
Read more

Azar calls for transparency in Ebola-like death in Tanzania | TheHill - The Hill

-
Image
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on Monday called for transparency from Tanzanian officials in the case of a patient who recently died after suffering Ebola-like symptoms, The Associated Press  reported . Azar told reporters in Uganda that he and others are “very concerned” and urged Tanzania’s government to share lab results related to the case. ADVERTISEMENT Congo, which borders Tanzania, is in the midst of the second-deadliest Ebola outbreak in history, with confirmed cases now exceeding 3,000. Azar said efforts were underway to secure Tanzania’s compliance with international health regulations and obligations to the World Health Organization (WHO) “to protect Tanzanians as well as all people in the region," according to the AP. Tanzania’s government said Saturday there is no confirmed case of Ebola inside its borders. According to an internal WHO document obtained by AP, the patient, a 34-year-old woman, died on Sept. 8 and was buried the same day. The
Read more

Ebola: Symptoms, treatment, and causes

-
Image
diabetes global epidemic :: Article Creator 32 Countries With The Highest Rates Of Diabetes In this article, we will be taking a look at the 32 countries with the highest rates of diabetes. If you do not want to learn about the global diabetes market, head straight to the 5 Countries with the Highest Rates of Diabetes. The Global Diabetes Market and Its Implications  The global diabetes market is experiencing significant growth and poses a substantial challenge to public health worldwide. According to the IDF Diabetes Atlas, in 2021, approximately 537 million people were suffering from diabetes globally, a number expected to rise to 643 million by 2030 and 783 million by 2045. This increase in prevalence underscores the urgent need for effective measures to address this chronic disease.  In the United States, the diabetes market is substantial, with around 136 million adults diagnosed with diabetes or in a prediabetic condition as reported by t
Read more