Journal article
What factors might have led to the emergence of Ebola in West Africa?
PLoS neglected tropical diseases, Vol.9(6), pp.e0003652-e0003652
2015
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/104206
PMCID: PMC4456362
PMID: 26042592
Abstract
An Ebola outbreak of unprecedented scope emerged in West Africa in December 2013 and presently continues unabated in the countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. Ebola is not new to Africa, and outbreaks have been confirmed as far back as 1976. The current West African Ebola outbreak is the largest ever recorded and differs dramatically from prior outbreaks in its duration, number of people affected, and geographic extent. The emergence of this deadly disease in West Africa invites many questions, foremost among these: why now, and why in West Africa? Here, we review the sociological, ecological, and environmental drivers that might have influenced the emergence of Ebola in this region of Africa and its spread throughout the region. Containment of the West African Ebola outbreak is the most pressing, immediate need. A comprehensive assessment of the drivers of Ebola emergence and sustained human-to-human transmission is also needed in order to prepare other countries for importation or emergence of this disease. Such assessment includes identification of country-level protocols and interagency policies for outbreak detection and rapid response, increased understanding of cultural and traditional risk factors within and between nations, delivery of culturally embedded public health education, and regional coordination and collaboration, particularly with governments and health ministries throughout Africa. Public health education is also urgently needed in countries outside of Africa in order to ensure that risk is properly understood and public concerns do not escalate unnecessarily. To prevent future outbreaks, coordinated, multiscale, early warning systems should be developed that make full use of these integrated assessments, partner with local communities in high-risk areas, and provide clearly defined response recommendations specific to the needs of each community.
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Details
- Title
- What factors might have led to the emergence of Ebola in West Africa?
- Creators
- Kathleen A Alexander - Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of AmericaClaire E Sanderson - Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of AmericaMadav Marathe - Department of Computer Science, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America; Network Dynamics and Simulation Science Laboratory, Virginia Bioinformatics Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of AmericaBryan L Lewis - Network Dynamics and Simulation Science Laboratory, Virginia Bioinformatics Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of AmericaCaitlin M Rivers - Network Dynamics and Simulation Science Laboratory, Virginia Bioinformatics Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of AmericaJeffrey Shaman - Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of AmericaJohn M Drake - Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of AmericaEric Lofgren - Network Dynamics and Simulation Science Laboratory, Virginia Bioinformatics Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of AmericaVirginia M Dato - Department of Biomedical Informatics, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of AmericaMarisa C Eisenberg - Departments of Epidemiology and Mathematics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of AmericaStephen Eubank - Network Dynamics and Simulation Science Laboratory, Virginia Bioinformatics Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
- Publication Details
- PLoS neglected tropical diseases, Vol.9(6), pp.e0003652-e0003652
- Academic Unit
- Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health
- Publisher
- United States
- Grant note
- U01 GM110744 / NIGMS NIH HHS 5U01GM070694-11 / NIGMS NIH HHS T15 LM007059 / NLM NIH HHS U01 GM110748 / NIGMS NIH HHS R01 GM109718 / NIGMS NIH HHS 5T15 LM007059-28 / NLM NIH HHS R01 GM100467 / NIGMS NIH HHS U01 GM070694 / NIGMS NIH HHS
- Identifiers
- 99900546777701842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article