Recently our world has been in panic about a contagious virus called Ebola. As more and more people come in contact with this horrible disease, we learn more and more about it. We learn where it came from, how you can contract the virus, and most importantly what might be the cure for it. This disease is quickly spreading around the world. Unsafe contact with wildlife, lack of medical care, and inadequate safety procedures are what led to the first case of Ebola in humans and the spread from one country into another.
Coming into contact with a bat led to the first case of Ebola. It is thought that fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family are natural Ebola virus hosts (World Health Organization). So how could people all over protect themselves from getting this virus? People all over the world need to be aware of certain animals. The governments should put warning signs in towns of Africa warning the people of certain places that have the specific bats or of any other animal that might also be a host or infected.
Animals that are hosts or that are infected might leave their feceswhere it is easy for a human to touch it or come in contact with it in any way. Those animals that are infected should also be treated, just like any infected human would. Just because they are not humans they still have a purpose to live. It is very easy for animals to get this virus because most animals eat other animal’s feces or maybe even smell it. Dogs for example do that exact thing. Dogs also tend to get aggressive when they are face to face with someone they do not recognize.
Therefore, when an infected dog, or any other infected animal, bites a human then the human in infected with the disease. However if it were too expensive for animals to get the treatment for this disease then it would also be a good idea to keep those animals from people. Just like the Ebola infected people are being kept in quarantine, the Ebola infected animals should be kept in quarantine, too. That way the animal will not leave their feces where a human can come in contact with it and if it is an aggressive animal, it will not bite a human. The lack of proper medical care has also led to the spread of Ebola.
There is yet not a cure for this deadly virus. Scientist have developed a vaccine that is being performed on monkeys. “A single shot of a fast-acting, experimental Ebola vaccine successfully protects monkeys from the deadly virus after only one month. ” (NIH). Many scientists have been doing many experiments to try to contain the Ebola outbreaks, but it seems very difficult for them to find a vaccination or an experiment that will work on humans. This is simply because experiments being performed are not always working. If this new vaccine is similarly effective in humans then it can allow these scientists to contain outbreaks with ring vaccination.
This method was successfully used for the small pox outbreak in the past. As much as this new vaccine brings hope to us, scientists should still be looking for another way to contain and possibly cure this virus. They cannot slow down. Inadequate safety measurements in airlines led infected people to enter America. Americans are in panic. In July of 2014, a reporter posted an article predicting that the Ebola virus could come to America, and it did. “So, could the Ebola virus come to the United States?
Definitely. Would it spread widely? Unlikely. ” This virus has entered out uninfected country in September of 2014. His name was Thomas Eric Duncan. Duncan was boarded on a flight from Liberia after a fever check on September 19,2014, and arrived in Dallas on September 20 to visit his family. After about three days, Duncan notices that he is developing strange symptoms and goes to the hospital but is later sent home. Two more days pass and he is feeling worse.
Duncan goes back to the hospital and is then put in isolation and on September 30, 2014, it is confirmedthat he tested positive for Ebola, and dies on September 8, 2014. Thomas Eric Duncan probably did not have any idea that he could’ve had the virus before boarding that plane, and neither could the doctors who checked him before the plane. Ebola is such a tricky virus to confirm because it is so similar to other diseases. Scientists need to find a way to track this disease early on so that it will not keep spreading. Medical staff did not take protective care when treating infected people.
After Duncan died it was confirmed a couple days later that two of the nurses that were treatingDuncan, Ni a Pham and Amber Joy Vinson, contacted Ebola. Both nurses were with him during what federal health officials have called the highest risk period, when he was vomiting and having diarrhea. That is the only way to contract this virus, through bodily fluids. As much as we depend on these scientists and doctors to keep us safe, we must try our best not to get infected by this virus. More and more people were contracting the virus because they were not taking the proper precautions.
More than 4,400 people have died from this horrible disease. If we do not work hard to find some way to keep this virus contained more and more people will be losing their family, friends, or someone really close to them. We cannot just watch these people that do not disserve this horrible suffering die. Take protective care when being in airport, hospitals, or even Wal- Mart. You never know who could have it because it is so hard to detect in its early stages. Scientists all over the world need to work hard on this case. Rest in peace to all of those loved ones that have passed away from Ebola, and rest in peace to Thomas Eric Duncan.