War on Ebola can be won, if human ingenuity again rises to the challenge
Thomas Tang says in our focus to contain the spread of the Ebola virus, we should heed the lessons of previous disease outbreaks and realise that cities can be resilient, if they are prepared
The Ebola virus that is infecting many people in West Africa is raising ripples of alarm across the rest of the world. The World Health Organisation seems disconcertingly powerless to halt the spread of the disease, which stokes fears of a global pandemic. As a learning species, what lessons can humankind take away from the tracks of this virus?
The Ebola virus was first identified in 1976, so it is no stranger to us. The lesson here is that man has tampered with nature yet again with dire results. Commonly found in wild animals, including primates, the Ebola virus has found a new nest in humans as the latter have encroached on natural habitats where wild animals live.
According to the WHO, in Africa, infection has been documented through the handling of infected wild animals found ill or dead, or in the rainforest. The problem is exacerbated by humans developing a taste for primate meat. Point one, be respectful of wildlife or you will pay the price.
So far, some 2,300 unfortunate people have died in the latest outbreak, out of a total of about 4,300 confirmed cases. Many of the cases reported are in rural townships in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
The virus spreads among humans through direct contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people, and through indirect contact with environments contaminated with such fluids. Thus, the authorities are understandably fearful of a spread of the virus into dense urban populations.
Today, as populations become more mobile across continents, it is inevitable that diseases will become as portable as suitcases and we have to prepare ourselves for this possibility. Lesson two, globalisation has its perils as well as its benefits.
But are crowded cities necessarily riskier than rural places? Cities tend to be better administered so health care treatment can be efficiently provided, infected neighbourhoods can be isolated quickly and emergency response teams mobilised.
