Ebola Outbreak 2014

Seventeen patients infected with Ebola were unaccounted for on Sunday after they fled an armed raid on a quarantine centre in Monrovia by men who claimed the epidemic is a fiction. “They broke down the door and looted the place. The patients have all gone,” said Rebecca Wesseh, who witnessed the attack out the outskirts of the Liberian capital. Her report was confirmed by residents and the head of Health Workers Association of Liberia, George Williams. Williams said the unit housed 29 patients who “had all tested positive for Ebola” and were receiving preliminary treatment before being taken to hospital. “Of the 29 patients, 17 fled last night (after the assault). Nine died four days ago and three others were yesterday (Saturday) taken by force by their relatives” from the centre, he said. The attackers, mostly young men armed with clubs, shouted that President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf “is broke” and “there’s no Ebola” in Liberia as they broke into the unit in a Monrovia suburb, Wesseh said. Residents had opposed the creation of the centre, set up by health authorities in part of the city considered an epicentre of the Ebola outbreak in the Liberian capital. “We told them not to (build) their camp here. They didn’t listen to us,” said a young resident, who declined to give his name. “We don’t believe in this Ebola outbreak.” The Ebola outbreak, the worst since the virus first appeared in 1976, has claimed 1,145 lives in five months, according to the UN World Health Organization’s latest figures as of August 13: 413 in Liberia, 380 in Guinea, 348 in Sierra Leone and four in Nigeria.

It's almost ironic that the Western World has chosen to wait so long to get involved and now because of it's spread fear has begun that Ebola might travel to the United States. By not sending aid in a timely fashion the US has allowed the virus to grow to a point that now the US finds itself in danger. To make a historical comparison it's almost akin to the Munich Agreements, France and England chose not to stop a growing and dangerous Germany out of fear of conflict only to find war on their door steps because of it. Why did the western world wait so long? Euro-centric bias or racism? Short sightedness? Regardless of the reason the United States and Western Europe are at risk from a nearly untreatable disease primarily through negligence.

This article shows how the Ebola virus began to spread in many of the countries on Africa and how likely the virus will arrive in the United States. The virus has crossed many borders in Africa already and, according to the article, has infected five people in the United States, but has been quarantined and is currently being treated.  The Ebola virus outbreak has shown how ill equipped certain parts of the world are, in terms of, having the necessary tools for combating a deadly disease. For example, the article provides a map that shows the areas in Africa are more infected with Ebola than others, illustrating how certain parts of the country are becoming more susceptible to the outbreak than others. So geographically, the Ebola virus has gone from a regional outbreak into a potentially global epidemic, what with the cases in the United States.

Ebola started in western Africa and it spread overseas to the United States more specifically than any other country. It currently affects over 23,200 people in western Africa. To make sure that Ebola is not being spread throughout the whole United States, eastern United States quarantines any visitors or immigrants from West Africa. Eastern United States seems to have the highest rate of ebola because it is closer to Africa. In that case, it can spread westerly un the United States. Perhaps, it could spread to Canada, Mexico or any other country.