Saturday, January 24, 2015

8675 people dead from the Ebola virus.

The vigilance and treatment needs to continue until the virus has vanished. Unless the quality of life of these people improve there is always the potential for another outbreak of a different strain of the virus. Elevating the wellness of these populations is vital and it is a global concern.

January 25, 2015

...There is still no vaccine or licensed treatment, (click here) nor is it clear whether the international community has actually learned any lessons from an epidemic that killed at least 8,675 people.

"Things have changed drastically for the better " no one can deny that," said Aitor Sanchez Lacomba, Liberia country director for the International Rescue Committee. "How can we make sure that we don't have these kinds of situations in the future?"

Previous disease outbreaks, including SARS and bird flu, prompted calls to build strong health surveillance systems and to reinforce agencies like the World Health Organization....

The WHO requested a $100 million emergency fund after the swine flu and has yet to realize that goal. These funds are important. There should be a permanent fund with investment of those funds to increase in value when not in use.

The outbreak has not killed as many people as some predictions. At its height, one estimate warned that as many as 1.4 million people could become infected by mid-January if there were no additional interventions. Instead, the probable, suspected and confirmed case toll is 21,797 with 8,675 deaths....

WHO needs a better administrative staff that has a good understanding of the dynamics of disease. The best way for that to happen is for their research physicians and an administrators to be on a panel where priorities can be applied to funds to stem an outbreak. Since the WHO is a vitally important organization the lead member of any panel should be a physician with administrating qualifications. These responsibilities can't be taken lightly as they effect the global population. Simply because this was a so called insignificant economic country, it has proven exactly what negligence causes to a global community.

...WHO blamed incompetent staff and said it let bureaucratic bungles delay people and money to fight the virus. The document said the agency was hampered by budget cuts and the need to battle other diseases flaring around the world....