Epidemic Outbreaks in Africa

Epidemic Outbreaks in Africa

One of the most devastating and frightening diseases to encroach on unsuspecting African communities is the deadly Ebola virus. This virus was believed to have first reared its ugly head in the mid 1970s with outbreaks in both the Sudan and Zaire. These epidemics resulted in more than 600 cases of people infected, and had alarming case fatality rates as high as 90 percent.1 Such profound numbers drove fear and panic into the hearts of the local population, with people confused and frightened about losing the entire members of their family. Yet, despite the severity of the 1970s outbreak, Ebola managed to remain fairly quiet for the next several years until a group of outbreaks occurred in the mid 1990s in northeast Gabon as well as Zaire. Several years later conveying the same sense of palpable fear, Ebola once again, entered the stage, this time around in Uganda in the year 2000.2

As a student volunteer working for a charitable health organization in Gulu, Uganda that summer, the reality of death and the effects of the disease consumed my thoughts as I pondered the risks I was taking each passing day by just being in the middle of an epidemic. Ten new suspected cases were diagnosed daily at the local hospital, and the medical staff were challenged by the overwhelming workload. Surgical supplies ran low as the need to constantly dispose of protective wear after each exposure occurred, due to the high contagious nature of the rapidly spreading virus. The smell of bleach and disinfectant pierced our nostrils, as our rubber boots and gear were sprayed down after any contact with the infected. The scene conveyed a sense of despair and uncertainty, as people questioned what had they done to...

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5 Simpson, 11.

6 Ibid.

7 Smyth.

8 Vidal, 5.

9 Ibid.

10 Ibid., 6.

11 Ibid., 8.

Works Cited:

Associated Press. "Ebola Virus Outbreak Kills 37" The Guardian, 18 October 2000: B7+

McCarthy, Michael. "Ebola Outbreak Continues in Uganda," The Lancet 356 (2000): Science & Medicine section.

Recer, Paul. "Sick Animals May be Source of Ebola" Associated Press Online, 15 January 2004: 1+

Simpson, D.I.H. "Marburg and Ebola Virus Infections: A Guide for Their Diagnosis, Management, and Control," WHO Offset Publication 36 (1997): 5-27

Smyth, Garry. "Six days in Hell: City Man Films Ebola Virus," St. John's Telegram (Newfoundland), 14 November 2000: sec. news; p.1. Front.

Vidal, John. "Life: Mostly They Died, Ebola Devastates Whole Villages, But We Do Not Know Where it Comes From" The Guardian (London), 17 June 2004: 4-8.