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An image often used when news
reporters discuss Ebola |
Almost 10,000 people have been infected with the deadly Ebola
virus since December of 2013 and it has been contracted in the U.S. for the
first time in history. U.S. officials have been working to prevent the virus
from spreading further, but conflicting information has left policymakers and
the public confused about what the best mode of action is. What should we be
doing to prevent the outbreak from further spreading through our population?
Media coverage is
causing unnecessary panic about Ebola
Don’t get me wrong; Ebola is a serious, deadly virus. The
progression is terrifying, the symptoms are painful, and the death rate is
high. Irrational fear of Ebola has haunted me since I learned what it was in 8
th
grade science class and watched the (fictional) movie
Outbreak.
But the truth is Ebola is nothing to panic about. It’s not
easy to spread among people that are not in close contact. It only spreads through
bodily fluids, so you shouldn’t be worried about getting it unless you have
exchanged saliva, blood, vomit, or any other intimate fluid with someone who is
infected. Air travel is generally safe, you are much more likely to get the flu
or a cold from flying because those viruses are airborne (get your
flu
shots!).
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As Jon Stewart
put it, the media reporting on Ebola should be titled “au bon panic.” |
Media reporting is causing unnecessary fear and making the
public panic by portraying Ebola as the next potential zombie apocalypse. Not
only that, misinformation and exaggeration has pitted politicians against each
other in the frenzy, instead of uniting them to work together to solve a
problem that none of them created. So what should we actually be doing to
combat Ebola?
Should the U.S.
restrict air travel from infected countries?
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Some policymakers are calling for the U.S. to ban passengers
from West Africa in the U.S.
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Despite what some politicians are suggesting, health and international policy experts
agree
that closing the borders to or from infected countries would make the spread of
Ebola worse. If travel is restricted to or from countries like Liberia, that
have been ravaged by the outbreak, it will make it harder to prevent the
disease from spreading in those countries.
"Any discontinuation
of transport will affect humanitarian aid, doctors, nurses and human resources
entering the country, the transfer of biological sampling and equipment for
hospitals," Daniel Menucci,
for the World Health Organization Travel and Transport Task Force, said. “All
of this needs international transporting, international airlines. This will
create more problems in helping the countries most affected.”
According to health officials, if we can’t stop the spread
of Ebola in West Africa, it will be harder to stop the spread globally. In a
testimony before congress the director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious
Diseases at the CDC, Beth Bell, stated, “The best way to protect the U.S. is to stop the
outbreak in West Africa."
Furthermore,
banning travel from those countries will make it harder to track people with
the disease who travel by other means. Not being able to track those with the
disease makes it harder to identify and isolate those who have been in contact
with the infected and trace the source.
What can the U.S. do about
Ebola?
The CDC have already started tightening restrictions and
implementing new protocols to increase precautions. Today, the U.S. began to
carry out more Ebola monitoring for passengers entering the U.S. from Liberia,
Sierra Leone, and Guinea. These travelers are now checked for Ebola symptoms
and are required answer Ebola-related questions when they enter one of the five
designated U.S. airports from those countries. The travelers will then be
required to provide phone numbers, addresses, and emails to check in with
health authorities every day for 21 days.
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Passengers traveling
from West Africa have their temperature taken before entering the U.S. |
The U.S. needs ensure that health care workers are trained
to a standard procedure when a patient exhibits signs of Ebola. Once admitted,
a special team with fully protective gear and precautions can treat that
patient. This protocol has already been implemented by the CDC, but as we found
out it is has not been flawless in the first U.S. Ebola diagnoses. As we learn
from our mistakes and take measures to treat and control the spread of Ebola,
the danger is minimized.
Why isn’t there a
cure yet?
A cure or vaccine for Ebola hasn’t been on the front line of
development due to the low probability of infection. Pharmaceutical companies
haven’t prioritized the development of a treatment or a vaccine for Ebola
because previously there was not much potential for a profit from such a drug.
As NIH director, Francis Collins,
stated
in The Huffington Post, budget
cuts
to scientific research have slowed the development of an Ebola vaccine,
which it has been working on since 2001.
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Technicians
set up Ebola assay to develop experimental treatments
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Since the outbreak began last December, focus has increased
on the development of a treatment. The NIH and several public companies have
fast-tracked the development of vaccines and treatments for Ebola. Experimental
treatments currently being developed include:
ZMapp,
TKM-Ebola,
Favipiravir,
BCX4430,
Brincidofovir,
and
JK-05.
Experimental vaccines include
cAd3-ZEBOV,
developed by the NIH and GlaxoSmithKline, and
rVSV-ZEBOV,
developed by the Public Health Agency of Canada. However, clinical trials of
vaccines raise
ethical
questions, and some are suggesting that the standard procedure should not
be used in the cases of these vaccines.
One positive story from the outbreak, which has not been the
focus of media, is the potential for survivors of Ebola to help develop
treatments. Survivors of Ebola, as with most viruses, are immune. They can’t
get sick from the same virus again because their blood develops a way to fight
it. The blood of survivors is being used to help treat other sick patients
because it contains Ebola-fighting antibodies that can help boost the immune
systems of those who are sick with it. Researchers are also studying these antibodies
to help create a cure. An
article
in Popular Science goes into detail about these promising
new methods.
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Ebola
virus particles budding on a cell.
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While this is the deadliest outbreak of Ebola in history, it
is still nothing to panic about in the U.S. We are developing treatments and
tightening up procedures to slow the spread of the virus. So, go about your
normal fall activities, including getting your flu shots and covering your
coughs! No need to walk around in a HAZMAT suit.
Thanks for reading, and cheers to your brain!
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