Ebola Outbreak Declared Global Health Emergency

EMERGING & RE-EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES
VIRAL HEMORRHAGIC FEVERS
DEADLY EBOLA HF EPIDEMIC
EBOLA OUTBREAK IN WEST AFRICA
GLOBAL HEALTH EMERGENCY
SCENARIOS 797, 444, 080, 011
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The largest ever Ebola outbreak continues spreading

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday declared the Ebola outbreak in West Africa a ‘Public Health Emergency of International Concern,’ under the International Health Regulations.

Earlier this week, the organization released the following statistics concerning the deadly outbreak:

• No of reported infection: 1,779 cases (including confirmed and probable cases)
• No of mortalities: At least 960
• Cases reported in Nigeria, the most recent country to be affected

The WHO director-general called the outbreak the “most complex outbreak in the four decades of this disease.”

Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever (EHF)

EHF is a highly contagious virus that spreads via close personal contact and kills up to 90% of the victims.

Five subspecies of Ebolavirus have so far been found. Four of those have caused disease in humans: Ebola virus (Zaire ebolavirus); Sudan virus (Sudan ebolavirus); Taï Forest virus (Taï Forest ebolavirus, formerly Côte d’Ivoire ebolavirus); and Bundibugyo virus (Bundibugyo ebolavirus). The fifth, Reston virus (Reston ebolavirus), has caused disease in nonhuman primates, but not in humans, according to CDC.

• Symptoms include high fever, bleeding and damage to central nervous system.
• There are  no known cure or vaccine for the Ebola virus.
• Incubation period is from two to 21 days.

In Africa, confirmed cases of Ebola HF have previously been reported in the following countries:

• Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
• Gabon
• South Sudan
• Ivory Coast
• Uganda
• Republic of the Congo (ROC)
• South Africa (imported)

The current outbreak  is the first known occurrence of Ebola HF in Guinea.

“The natural reservoir host of ebolaviruses, and the manner in which transmission of the virus to humans occurs, remain unknown. This makes risk assessment in endemic areas difficult. With the exception of several laboratory contamination cases (one in England and two in Russia), all cases of human illness or death have occurred in Africa; no case has been reported in the United States,” said CDC.

Ebola virions (image 2 colorized 1), diagnostic specimen from the first passage in Vero cells of a specimen from a human patient — this image is from the first isolation and visualization of Ebola virus, 1976. In this case, some of the filamentous virions are fused together, end-to-end, giving the appearance of a “bowl of spaghetti.” Negatively stained virions. Magnification: approximately x40,000.  Micrograph from F. A. Murphy, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas.

Affected Countries [August 4, 2014]

Guinea

• August 4, 2014, the Guinea Ministry of Health announced a total of 495 suspect and confirmed cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD), including 363 fatal cases.
• Affected districts include Conakry, Guéckédou, Macenta, Kissidougou, Dabola, Djingaraye, Télimélé, Boffa, Kouroussa, Dubreka, Fria, Siguiri, Pita and Nzerekore; several are no longer active areas of EVD transmission (see map).
• 351 cases across Guinea have been confirmed by laboratory testing to be positive for Ebola virus infection.
• In Guinea’s capital city, Conakry, 95 suspect cases have been reported to meet the clinical definition for EVD, including 42 fatal cases.

Liberia

• August 4, 2014, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare of Liberia and WHO have reported 516 suspect and confirmed EHF cases (including 143 laboratory confirmations) and 282 reported fatalities.

Nigeria

• August 4, 2014, the Nigerian Ministry of Health and WHO reported 9 suspect and probable cases and 1 fatal probable case.

Sierra Leone

• August 4, 2014, the Ministry of Health and Sanitation of Sierra Leone and WHO reported a cumulative total of 691 suspect and confirmed cases, including 576 laboratory confirmations and 286 reported fatal cases.
• Cases have been reported from 12 Sierra Leone districts.

12 deadly pathogens could spread into new regions aided by climate change

A report by Wildlife Conservation Society released on October 7, 2008 lists 12 deadly pathogens that could spread globally as a result of climate change. “All have potential impacts to both human and wildlife health as well as global economies.” Report said.

Titled ‘The Deadly Dozen: Wildlife Diseases in the Age of Climate Change,’ the report illustrates examples of diseases that could spread due to temperatures changes and variations in regional precipitation levels.

The “Deadly Dozen” list [ABC order]

1. Avian influenza
2. Babesia
3. Cholera
4. Ebola
5. Intestinal and external parasites
6. Lyme disease
7. Plague
8. Red tides
9. Rift Valley fever
10. Sleeping sickness (trypanosomiasis)
11. Tuberculosis
12. Yellow fever

Related Links

• Ebola Outbreak: Public Health Emergency Declared in Sierra Leone July 31, 2014
• EBOLA Epidemic Spreading in West Africa June 19, 2014
• Sierra Leone “Quarantines” Ebola Affected Area June 14, 2014
• Ebola Kills 100 in West Africa April 5, 2014
• Ebola Spreads to Liberia, Senegal Shuts Border March 31, 2014
• Ebola Outbreak Kills Dozens March 23, 2014
• Marburg Hemorrhagic Fever Breaks Out in SW Uganda October 20, 2012
• Disaster Calendar – 28 July 2012 July 28, 2012
• Climate Change Spreads “Deadly Dozen” Diseases October 8, 2008