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Ebola crisis: Virus spreading too fast, says WHO - chairman - 08-02-2014
The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is spreading faster than efforts to control it, World Health Organization (WHO) head Margaret Chan has said.
She told a summit of regional leaders that failure to contain Ebola could be "catastrophic" in terms of lives lost.
But she said the virus, which has claimed 728 lives in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone since February, could be stopped if well managed.
Ebola kills up to 90% of those infected.
Re: Ebola crisis: Virus spreading too fast, says WHO - The Professor - 08-02-2014
Friday's summit should provide the kind of international co-operation needed to fight Ebola but the battle against the virus will be won or lost at the local level. An over-attentive family member, a careless moment while burying a victim, a slip-up by medical staff coping with stress and heat - a single small mistake in basic hygiene can allow the virus to slip from one human host to another.
The basic techniques for stopping Ebola are well known. The problem is applying them. Since the virus was first identified in 1976, there have been dozens of outbreaks and all of them have been contained. Experts point to these successes as evidence that this latest threat can be overcome too.
But working against them are suspicions among local people and the unavoidable fact that this is an extremely poor part of the world, much of it still reeling from conflict. Deploying the right equipment in properly trained hands is always going to be a struggle, one that is now extremely urgent.
Re: Ebola crisis: Virus spreading too fast, says WHO - Livvy - 08-03-2014
[quote author=The Professor link=topic=91634.msg578824#msg578824 date=1407003796]
The basic techniques for stopping Ebola are well known. The problem is applying them.
[/quote]
That's really the issue, isn't it? We know what causes Ebola. We know what we can do to stop it spreading, but due to the high risk, and indeed the high transfer rate, it's just one small slip up and suddenly you're infected. It's much worse in that regard than a lot of other viruses.