Science

Ebola: Global Crisis or Much a do about Nothing? - By Ben Beardsley

All over the Western World, there is a feeling of hysteria regarding the latest ebola outbreak. Indeed, many people have, rather pessimistically, proclaimed that this outbreak will lead to the end of civilisation. However, before any of us can make such bold claims about what will or will not happen as a result of the outbreak, we must understand what ebola is, what it can and can not do, and what dangers it presents. It is important to note that whilst the latest outbreak of the virus is the most severe (in that it has killed about ten times as many people as has any previous outbreak), there have been several ebola outbreaks in the past. In fact, the virus is named after the ebola river, which is in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, miles away from East Africa, the site of the current outbreak. Although many believe that ebola is a newly discovered, unstoppable virus with the potential to destroy all of humankind, it must be noted that in the past, ebola outbreaks have come and gone, and the human race has managed to live on. Many may stake the claim that ebola has a mortality rate of 90% as a reason to mark the disease as something to end most of humanity. Although the world health organisation supports this, it is unlikely that the statistic is completely accurate. Whilst it is widely agreed that ebola is a lethal virus that has killed most of the people who have contracted it, multiple sources list different mortality rates, some claiming that the mortality rate for hospitalised patients is as low as 60%. Also, it must be noted that hospitals in the countries most heavily hit (i.e. Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia) do not possess facilities of the same caliber as those of the Western World. It is therefore too early to be as extreme as to claim that ebola will become a deadly plague, or to become overly paranoid about a virus that does not currently show any signs of being a threat to the human race as an entity. Having said that, it is vital that the world works to stamp out the ebola outbreak as soon as possible. One of the main factors that has made this particular outbreak of the disease so dangerous is that it was allowed to spread quickly and in urban areas. When Western Africa was initially struggling with the disease, the Western World, for the most part, did not make a great effort to find a cure. Whilst it is highly unlikely that ebola will cause the human race to become extinct, it still has the potential to claim even more lives than the 8,000 that it already has. Thus, ebola highlights the importance of global cooperation not only in terms of scientific, medical issues, but in terms of all forms of potential conflict or strife. Ebola is most likely not going to wipe out the human race. But, if we all decide that it is not affecting us and is therefore irrelevant, it will continue to take lives, and may even mutate into a virus capable of becoming airborne. In order to stop ebola, I believe that intercontinental communication takes precedence over almost all else, and that third-world nations must be aided, or else first-world nations shall too be at risk from the virus.