CURRENT ONGOING RESEARCH ON EBOLA
Prevention
Most of the research going on today to try and stop the Ebola epidemic based on finding ways to prevent the spread of the disease. As Benjamin Franklin once said:
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure
These are the ways we can prevent the disease through the minimization of direct contact of affected people with non-affected people:
- Identification, isolation, and the monitoring of suspected cases of Ebola.
- Using extensive protective equipment that cover the body from head-to-toe when coming in conact of affected people.
- Sterilizing and disinfecting everything that had came in contact with the victim such as medical equipement, floors, bed frames and walls.
- Incinerating all contaminated items and proper disposal of the bodies.
Hopefully, these measures when put into practice will stop the spread of Ebola but sadly there are lots of risk factors that encourage the spread of Ebola.
Risk Factors
Burial Practices
Crowding of People
Poverty
- in a lot of African tribes the burial practices include washing, touching and kissing the body which maximizes the transition of Ebola
Crowding of People
- as there is growing industrialization, many of the affected countries are crowded with people making it easier to spread the virus
- so many people are affected by the virus but there is not enough healthcare workers nor facilities and supplies to provide for them all
Poverty
- to properly dispose of the bodies and contaminated materials through incineration is extremely costly and most of the affected areas are too poor to afford to pay for those practices
- the facilities and supplies needed to treat the patients are very expensive and, in many cases, too expensive to afford