Ebola : too far or so close?

Abstract

The year 2014 has witnessed the escalation of the largest ever Ebola outbreak which started in Guinea, and later spread to other countries in West Africa. The associated disease burden has already exceeded the total number of cases in all the sporadic outbreaks that occurred since the first description of Ebola in 1976. The threat of further spread across Africa, and possibly beyond through international travel, is of concern and has led several countries around the world to implement preparedness measures against Ebola. In an attempt to contain the spread of Ebola, WHO and other non- governmental humanitarian organisations have pooled their resources to fuel efforts at improving patient care, isolation facilities, healthcare worker training, and availability of personal protective equipment in the affected countries. The outbreak has brought to light the lack of past investment in research into treatment or potential vaccine development against the Ebola virus, with the only hope of expediting a cure that can be used in the current outbreak being through the launch of clinical trials investigating experimental drugs in the affected countries.