Ebola epidemic could continue for months

New strategies against dangerous Ebola disease

07/05/2014

After a two-day crisis meeting, African health ministers and international experts in Ghana agreed on a transnational strategy to tackle the dangerous Ebola epidemic. Over 460 people have died of the plague in West Africa over the past three months.

Authorities agree on transnational strategy
According to experts, "the deadly Ebola epidemic in West Africa could last for a long time despite a new package of measures". The Emergency Coordinator at MSF's Brussels Operation Center, Christine Férir, said on Friday, according to a news agency dpa: „It can go on for weeks or even months in some places. That's very hard to predict.“ On Thursday night, authorities in numerous West African countries adopted a transnational strategy to fight the virus after a two-day crisis meeting in Ghana. African health ministers and international experts attended the meeting.

WHO establishes subregional control center
The virus first appeared in Guinea in March and, a short time later, first cases were registered in Liberia and Sierra Leone. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently described the current outbreak as the worst of all times, „not only in terms of number of cases and deaths, but also in terms of geographical distribution.“ Experts fear that the disease could spread to other African countries. As it says in a communication, the WHO will „subregional control center“ in Guinea, which will serve as a coordination platform in the fight against the disease and work with all major partners. Furthermore, politicians, respected parishioners and religious leaders are to be involved in educational campaigns.

Many people in West Africa are unsure
In West Africa, many people are unsure because they do not know the disease. They distrusted the doctors and hid family members with Ebola symptoms in their homes. Both Liberia's President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health warned the population against resorting to those infected with Ebola. „It is important to mobilize influential people in the affected countries and help spread the important messages about Ebola in the communities. Only in this way can the fear of the population be counteracted“, MSF expert Férir.

Funerals are a risk
Many people in the affected areas would still have funerals that wash or hug the dead. This poses a great risk to the mourners, as Ebola is transmitted through contact with body fluids. In infected people initially appear symptoms similar to a beginning flu. Later in the disease symptoms such as severe fever, bloody diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, as well as bleeding from the mucous membranes, bleeding in the skin and increased internal bleeding. About 60 to 90 percent of the infected die from the disease.

No vaccine and no anti-Ebola medication
For Ebola there is so far neither a vaccine nor a drug. To curb the virus, experts therefore consider education as one of the most important measures. The current epidemic is the first known Ebola outbreak in West Africa. So far, the epidemic has occurred mainly in the east and in the center of the continent. According to the WHO, the disease has already claimed 467 lives in the three countries in three months. For Germany, the current outbreak no further preventive measures result. Vice President of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) Lars Schaade said last week: „Even in the unlikely event that someone introduces the disease, Germany is already well equipped.“ (Ad)