An ongoing outbreak of ebola virus disease evd, the largest, most persistent ever documented, and the first in west africa, began in march 2014 in guinea, sierra leone, and liberia the affected countries and has spread to nigeria. Ebola virus in west africa is new strain, scientists say. Epidemiology and surveillance the world health organization who continues to monitor the evolution of the ebola virus disease evd outbreak in sierra leone, liberia, guinea and nigeria. An outbreak of professional and popular articles followed upon the west african ebola epidemic which began december 20 in meliandou, an isolated village in gu. Countries such as guinea, liberia and sierra leone were devastated by this outbreak, largely because they were unfamiliar with the virus and were unprepared to diagnose and treat it. Background the 2014 epidemic of ebola virus disease in parts of west. Ebola is used to refer to the ebolavirus or the ebola virus disease hereinafter evd. Mathematical models played a key role in inferring the transmission dynamics of ebov.
For many infections, some infected individuals transmit to disproportionately more susceptibles than others, a phenomenon referred to as superspreading. Modeling work succeeded in inferring, in particular. Superspreading has been described for a recent ebola virus ebov outbreak, but systematic characterizations. The recent ebola virus ebov epidemic in west africa emerged. November 1, 2014 since the ebola outbreak in sierra leone, guinea, and. These photos show how they are reaching families and communities with vital ebola prevention information. Laua,1, benjamin douglas dalzielb,c, sebastian funkd, amanda mcclellande, amanda tiffanyf, steven rileyg, c.
Ebola is indeed among the zoonotic diseases with highest mortality rate, up to 90% 1. Use of technology in the ebola response in west africa 3 current data collection and sharing in near realtime healthmap crowdsources online informal sources including online news aggregators, eyewitness reports, expertcurated discussions, and. Physical geography of west africa the 8 million square kilometers and 17 countries covered by this atlas encompass a wide range of landscapes from alluvial valleys in senegal and ghana, sandy plains and low plateaus across the sahel, and rolling hills of togo to rugged mountains with summits reaching over 1,500 m in guinea and 1,800 m in niger. F or the first time in more than two years, all three west african countries at the heart of the worst ebola outbreak ever seen were declared free of the disease on thursday, marking a landmark.
West africa ebola outbreak largest ebola outbreak in. Ebola continues to spread in west africa photos the. Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free pdf. Evaluation of the usaidofda ebola virus disease outbreak. In fact, there is still strong reason for optimism about the regions prospects the ebola outbreak overshadowed three key events affecting the. American scientists identified this to be an ebola hf outbreak associated with a newly discovered ebola virus species. Body fluids of a person who is sick with or has died from ebola blood, vomit, pee, poop, sweat, semen, spit, other fluids 2. In a, these nodes are positioned according to the mean latitude and longitude estimates obtained by phylogeographic. The ebola response in west africa exposing the politics and culture of international aid marc dubois and caitlin wake, with scarlett sturridge and christina bennett october 2015 hpg working paper hpg humanitarian policy group. Ofda ebola outbreak response in west africa ebola response evaluation, objective 1 effectiveness. We have used an ann algorithm and predicted the origin of the outbreak at longitude. The world health organization is reporting 887 deaths from the worst outbreak of the ebola virus in history.
Ebola victims were being released from the hospital, completely recovered. The failure of local control efforts by november 2014, over 000 people in west africa had contracted ebola, and at least 35 percent of those infected had died. Ebola virus disease, west africa regional office for africa. The international rescue committee was at the forefront of the fight to stem the spread of the deadly ebola virus since the first cases were diagnosed in liberia and sierra leone in 2014. The northern border is the sahara desert, with the ranishanu bend generally considered the northernmost part of the region. Dec 16, 2014 number of new ebola virus disease cases reported, by epidemiologic week three countries, west africa, march 29november 30, 2014 alternate text. The ebola virus that has killed scores of people in guinea this year is a new strain evidence that the disease did not spread there from outbreaks in some other african nations, scientists report. The 20 ebola outbreak across west africa brought into focus a major information gap that impeded effective response to the crisis a lack of reliable population maps koch, 2016.
These countries had also just emerged from years of civil war, leaving their. This type of work is necessary for the development of vaccines and therapeutic drugs for ebola. The first cases were recorded in guinea in december 20. An outbreak of professional and popular articles followed upon the west african ebola. The landscape configuration of zoonotic transmission of ebola. West africa region initially this article covers the timeline of the 2014 ebola virus epidemic in west africa and its outbreaks elsewhere. However, liberia and sierra leone are central for this thesis, as the interviewees were solely stationed there. The current ebola outbreak in west africa entered its second year and is unprecedented because it is the largest one in history, involved urban centers and affected a large number of health care workers.
Spatial and temporal dynamics of superspreading events in the. Modeling work succeeded in inferring, in particular, the basic reproductive number r 0 and the timevarying. The 2014 west africa ebola pandemic casefatality rate was greater than 67% in guinea alone. Sep 18, 2014 the ebola outbreak overshadowed three key events affecting the region. The ebola virus epidemic in west africa is one of the worst epidemics of the current century to date. An epidemic refers to the rapid spread of an infectious disease in a given population within a short period of time. These factors include occurrence in a region recovering from civil instability and lacking experience with ebola. The outbreak size of the 2014 ebola virus ebov epidemic in western africa was unprecedented, and control measures failed to contain the epidemic at its early rapidly growing stage 1, 2. The landscape configuration of zoonotic transmission of. In the ebola outbreak in west africa, the awardwining sierra leonean journalist, political activist and human rights advocate chernoh alpha m.
Spatial and temporal dynamics of superspreading events. Africa latitude and longitude and relative locations. Aug 04, 2014 the world health organization is reporting 887 deaths from the worst outbreak of the ebola virus in history. Ebola continues to spread in west africa photos the big. Aug 04, 2014 since the beginning of the west african ebola outbreak in march, our colleagues at unicef liberia have been working day and night to fight the fear, denial and misconceptions that are fueling the diseases spread. First, as a null model indicating complete spatial randomness, the outbreaks were. West africa refers to the three countries hardesthit by the ebolavirus, that is, guinea, sierra leone and liberia. On july 1, a major organizational restructuring at the world bank group was implemented. Ebola virus disease epidemic west africa, december 2014. The geographical context was west and central africa. Spatial and temporal dynamics of superspreading events in.
The western african ebola virus epidemic 202016 was the most widespread outbreak of ebola virus disease evd in historycausing major loss of life and socioeconomic disruption in the region, mainly in guinea, liberia and sierra leone. The deadliest epidemics of the 21st century so far. The atlantic ocean forms the western as well as the southern borders of the west african region. More than 28,000 people were infected, and over 11,000 people died before the international public health emergency ended in june 2016. Jun 19, 2018 the ebola virus epidemic in west africa is one of the worst epidemics of the current century to date. The facts, arguments and evidence did american researchers cause the 2014 ebola outbreak in west africa.
The ebola epidemic trend in sierra leone, liberia, and guinea remains precarious, with continuing. Recent loss of closed forests is associated with ebola. These west african communities were being hammered by ebola as a result of alreadystrained healthcare systems, mistrust of healthcare workers and fear and stigmatization of those infected. A n alarming report released last week by doctors without borders said that west africas current ebola outbreak is out of control.
The 20 ebola outbreak across west africa brought into focus a major information gap that impeded effective response to the crisis a lack of. Medical sciences spatial and temporal dynamics of superspreading events in the 20142015 west africa ebola epidemic max s. Analysis of the ebola outbreak in 2014 and 2018 in west africa and. Lines of latitude are often referred to as parallels. A comprehensive database of the geographic spread of past. West african ebola virus epidemic timeline wikipedia. Chris beyrer, johns hopkins bloomberg school of public health, baltimore, md reinhard burger, robert koch institute, berlin, germany david heymann, chairman, public health england, london, uk james hughes, professor of medicine and public health, emory university, atlanta, ga rima khabbaz. The variety of factors that contributed to the initial undetected spread of ebola virus disease in west africa during 202016 and the difficulty controlling the outbreak once the etiology was identified highlight priorities for disease prevention, detection, and response. Recent loss of closed forests is associated with ebola virus. Openstreetmap gis data on guinea, liberia, and sierra leone. Main sources of infection taking care of sick people healthcare workers, family members burial practices traditional burial practices include washing and touching the body of the deceased. Grenfella,h adepartment of ecology and evolutionary biology, princeton university, princeton, nj 08544. Phylodynamic assessment of intervention strategies for the west.
In west africa mainly guinea, liberia and sierra leone, it was an epidemic that killed. The figure above is a bar chart showing the number of new ebola virus disease cases reported, by epidemiologic week, for three west african countries during march 29november 30, 2014. In march 2014, west africa experienced the largest ever outbreak of ebola, infecting over 28,000 people and claiming over 11,000 lives. Ebola is a zoonotic filovirus that has the potential to cause outbreaks of variable magnitude in human populations. Sierra leone, guinea and liberia suffered the largest ebola epidemic in history.
It covers an area of 111,369 square kilometres 43,000 sq mi and is home to about 4 million people. Spatiotemporal spread of the 2014 outbreak of ebola. After ebola, west africa rebuilds for a better future. The 20142015 outbreak and spread of ebola virus disease evd, or ebola in west africa. Feb 28, 2017 spatial and temporal dynamics of superspreading events in the 20142015 west africa ebola epidemic max s. Jun 21, 2016 west africa experienced the largest ever outbreak of ebola, infecting over 28,000 people and claiming over 11,000 lives. Building on discussions at the world humanitarian summit global consultation, an event examining the implications of ebola for international crisis response. Measuring the effectiveness of vast program components in a countrybycountry analysis is a complex process, requiring the careful triangulation of data. Understanding superspreading can facilitate devising individually targeted control measures, which may outperform populationlevel measures. A man with ebola like symptoms who had recently been to west africa went to the. Lau, a, 1 benjamin douglas dalziel, b, c sebastian funk, d amanda mcclelland, e amanda tiffany, f steven riley, g c.
Bah presents an indepth investigation that challenges the official narrative surrounding the origin and widespread transmission of the 2014 west african ebola epidemic one of the most catastrophic human tragedies in the twenty first century. Wvdhhr center for threat preparedness events and announcements 2014 ebola outbreak in west africa case counts 2014 ebola outbreak in west africa case counts 11172014. West africa ebola outbreak is declared over at last. But its 2015 now, and the disease is still infecting people. A predictive spatial distribution framework for filovirus. Number of new ebola virus disease cases reported, by epidemiologic week three countries, west africa, march 29november 30, 2014. Shortly after the outbreak of ebola in guinea, when it seemed like bad news was the only news, unicefs office in guinea started to receive reports of something that seemed almost impossible, given the climate. Superspreading has been described for a recent ebola virus ebov outbreak, but systematic. Overview and issues for congress congressional research service with some ebola supplemental funds still unobligated, some in the 114th congress have looked to these funds as a potential source for responses to the emergent zika virus. The specific geographic extent of the investigation was latitude 40 s, 35 n, and longitude 20 w, 60 e. The 2014 outbreak of ebola virus disease in west africa was the largest, most severe and most complex ebola epidemic in history, according to the world health organization. Two weeks later, the brics brazil, russia, india, china, and south africa announced the establishment of the new development bank.
Recent loss of closed forests is associated with ebola virus disease. The ebola virus epidemic in west africa was an epidemic of ebola virus disease evd in certain west african countries primarily occurring from 20 to 2016. Ebola viral disease evd is a severe and lifethreatening disease. The current outbreak of ebola in west africaa region that has been largely devoid of visitations from this virushas sparked many news stories and fueled speculation about how such outbreaks are started, sustained, and eventually controlled. If there has been an undue emphasis on mapping as a potential corrective, it is because the use or nonuse of maps provides a convenient means of assessing issues that arose in the battle against ebola in west africa. Of the five species of ebola virus, four can infect humans zaire, sudan. That should shock the governments of guinea, sierra. Genetic analyses have provided important insights into ebola virus spread. Flag icons denote the first announcements of confirmed cases by the respective nationstates, their first deaths, and their first secondary transmissions, as well as relevant sessions and announcements of agencies such as. Why could healthcare officials not stop the virus from spreading.
Jan 07, 2016 the 20 ebola outbreak across west africa brought into focus a major information gap that impeded effective response to the crisis a lack of reliable population maps koch, 2016. Exposing the politics and culture of international aid. The initiation and spread of the pandemic was a direct result of 1 zoonotic transmission to humans, 2. Spatial and temporal dynamics of superspreading events in the 20142015 west africa ebola epidemic max s. Mar 15, 2015 ebola viral disease evd is a severe and lifethreatening disease.
Zoonotic transmission of evd requires contact between susceptible human hosts and the reservoir species for ebolaviruses, which are believed to be fruit bats. Among this summers grave global worries, the spread of the ebola virus has monopolized the discussion of subsaharan africa and reinvigorated hoary notions of disorder and despair at a time when a new image of a dynamic africa. All these locations were assigned random coordinates in three axes. Ebola virus disease, west africa update 31 july 2014. Therefore, the patent was for the invention of a diagnosticmethod for detecting the bundibugyo strain of the ebola virus. The specific geographic extent of the investigation was latitude 40. The 20142015 outbreak and spread of ebola virus disease evd, or ebola in west africa became an international public health emergency that, in no small part due to international intervention, abated significantly by the end of 2015 and early 2016. Oct 30, 2017 all these locations were assigned random coordinates in three axes. Several factors are responsible for triggering epidemics.
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