WHO A new Ebola outbreak remains inevitable

WHO secretary general warns of further Ebola outbreaks
The recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa has been the largest, heaviest, and most complex history in the history of the disease. The Secretary General of the World Health Organization (WHO), dr. Margaret Chan, now warns of further outbreaks of the deadly disease.

In response to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, WHO responded too slowly and took too long to see that the first outbreak of Ebola in West Africa would be very different from the 17 outbreaks that have occurred in Equatorial Africa since 1976 WHO Secretary-General self-critical. The unprecedented duration and scope of the epidemic has raised many critical questions. Although the outbreak was finally successfully curbed with international support, renewed Ebola epidemics threaten to erupt, the WHO Secretary-General warned.

The WHO Secretary-General warns of new Ebola outbreaks. (Image: Syda Productions / fotolia.com)

WHO reacted too late in the Ebola epidemic
"In Guinea, where the outbreak began in late 2013, the virus has been circulating undetected and undeterred for three months. Chan from the past Ebola epidemic. By the time the virus was identified in March 2014, the virus had reached hospitals in crowded urban areas, according to the WHO Secretary-General. This was followed by distribution to Sierra Leone and Liberia, where health systems collapsed in just over a month, especially after the virus reached the capitals. Only when the number of infections and deaths exploded dramatically did the WHO respond with corresponding determination and with massive international support could the epidemic be successfully contained. More than 28,000 infections and over 10,000 deaths were the outcome of the outbreak.

There will always be surprises
Constant mutation and adaptation are important viral survival mechanisms, and there will always be surprises, emphasizes WHO secretary-general. The outbreaks of Ebola, Zika, and Co also illustrate how the changing habits of people on this planet of the microbial world are also opening up new possibilities for expansion. So even a new Ebola outbreak in the future can not be prevented. While the world is better prepared today, it is not good enough for long, according to the WHO Secretary-General.

"Weak public health systems (especially regarding the early detection of unusual pathogens), the concentration of most urban health resources, and the elimination of mosquito control programs are making the world more susceptible to the next microbial surprise." Chan. (Fp)