BeanandEngelhardt1

DylanBeanandKennadyEngelhardt
BethanySmith
EnglishIIHonors
1December2015
TheEpidemicThatBrokeAfrica
Imagineatwoyearoldchildbleedingfromhiseyes,vomitingconstantly,andhaving
diarrhea,hesoondiesafter.Thenthisspreadsfromthemotherssontoherdaughterandthento
herhusbandandthentoherselftheyalldiefromthis.ThisistheeffectofEbola.Ebolaisoneof
theworstdiseasestoravageitselfthroughoutAfricacausingheartache,death,andchaos.
WhatisEbola,andwhatdoesitreallydotothepeopleofAfrica?Thescientifictermfor
Ebolaisviralhemorrhagicfever.Thetermviralhemorrhagicfever

referstoanygroupof
illnessescausedbyvirusesthatattackbloodvesselsandmultipleorgansinthebody,causing
heavybleeding,orhemorrhagic(Gelletly86).Thiswillcausebleedingfromtheeyesandother
abnormalplaces.TheEbolavirusdiseasefirstappearedin1976in2simultaneousoutbreaks,
oneinNzara,SudanandtheotherinYambuku,DemocraticRepublicofCongo(Ebola).This
wastheveryfirsttimeinrecordedhistorythattheEbolavirushasbeenseeninAfrica.This
doesntcomparetotheEbolaepidemicof20132014.TheEbolaepidemiccouldcausemore
thanonemillioncasesunlessimprovedisolationandtreatmentofpatientsareputinplace,new
projectionssuggest.Inlessthansixweeks,thenumberofinfectionscouldsurpass20,000say
WorldHealthOrganizationofficialsandothersreportonSeptember23intheNewEngland
JournalofMedicine.ExpertsfromtheU.S.CentersforDiseasecontrolandPreventionpredict
thatthe20,000casemarkmightbereachedevensooner.Iftheepidemiccontinuesunabated,the

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reportednumberofcasesinLiberiaandSierraLeonecouldreach550,000withinfourmonths.
Thatwouldtranslatetoanestimated1.4millioncaseswhenunderreportingistakenintoaccount,
thescientistssayintheSeptember26MorbidityandMortalityWeeklyReport.TheWHOreport
alsosuggeststhatEbolaintheregionmightneverbefullyeradicatedandbecomeendemic
(Seppa).TheEbolaviruswassuspectedtocauseupto1millioncases.Peopleweregetting
infectedextremelyfastasthisvirusspreadthroughoutAfrica.
Ebolaisaveryeasilytransmitteddiseasesoherearesomepreventiontips.

Glovesand
appropriatepersonalprotectiveequipmentshouldbewornwhentakingcareofillpatientsat
home.Regularhandwashingisrequiredaftervisitingpatientsinhospital,aswellasaftertaking
careofpatientsathome(Ebola).TheEbolavirusistransmittedbycontactwiththebodilyfluids
suchasthemucus,saliva,sweat,andbloodofaninfectedperson.Itcanalsobepassedonby
contaminatedneedlesorothermedicalequipment.Symptomsmayappearanytimefromafew
daystotwoweeksafterexposure(Gelletly88).Furthermore,theviruscansimplybespread
throughdirectcontact.IfsomeonewastotouchapersonwiththeEbolavirus,withoutany
protection,theycouldcontractthevirusveryeasily.Sothemostefficientwaytopreventfrom
gettingEbolaistowearprotectivegear.Eventheslightestcontactwithsomeonewhohasthe
viruscouldcauseapersontocontractthevirusthemselves.ThatiswhyitspreadthroughAfrica
soeffortlessly.
Ebolahasbeenaroundfordecadesandresearchersarefinallygettingclosertofindinga
cure.

InDecember2013,atoddlerinGuineadevelopedafeverandbeganvomiting.Afewdays
later,hewasdead.Hissister,mother,andgrandmothersoonfellillanddiedtoo.Scientiststhink
thesedeathsmarkedthebeginningofthedeadliestEbolaoutbreakonrecord.AsofNovember9,

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2014,thediseasehadsickened14,098peopleandkilled5,160,thevastmajorityinWestAfrica
(Willyard).Thiswasthestartofthe20132014EbolaepidemicofAfrica.Thiswasnttheonly
case,thereweremanytocomeafterthisfamily.Havingadrug,evenanimperfectone,would
haveanimpactbeyondtheindividualsreceivingit,Bauschsays.Adrugcouldchangethe
mindsetofpeoplewhohavebeenincontactwithpatientsbutwhoarenotthemselvessick.
ManyhesitatetogettestedbecausehospitalshavenowaytotreatEbola,hesays.Refusaltoget
testedextendsdiseasetransmissionifthesecontactsturnouttoharborthevirusanddevelopan
infection.Wordofadrugcouldinducepeopletocomeinfortesting.Gettingthemoutof
circulation,hesays,couldendtheoutbreak.(Seppa)Adrugisbeingdeveloped,butdoctors
dontreallyknowhowwellitisgoingwork.Peoplemightnotwanttocomethehospitaltoget
thedrugbecausetheyhavebeenaroundpeoplewithEbolaandarenotyetsick.InJune2005,
scientistsfromCanada,France,andtheUnitedStatesannouncedthattheyhadtakensteps
towardcreatingavaccineforEbolaandMarburg..Researchhasalreadyproduceda
separateEbolavaccine,whichisbasedonthevirusthatcausesthecommoncoldinpeople.The
vaccinehasbeenshowntoprotectmonkeys,andwasslatedforhumantestingin2013(Gelletly
88).Therewasavaccinemadethatwasproventoworkonmonkeys.Itwaslatertestedon
peopletoseetheeffects.
AltogetherEbolaisadeadlydiseasethatneedstobestopped.ThroughalltheyearsEbola
hasexisted,thereisstillnocure.Researchersarelookingforoneandhavedevelopedpossible
contestants,butthosehavenotbeentestedonhumansyet.Peoplearescaredtotestthevaccine
becauseofitsefficiencyandresult.Untilacureisfoundforthisdeadlydiseaseitwillpollutethe
earth.

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WorksCited
Baker,Aryn,andAlexandraSifferlin."RacingEbola.(CoverStory)."Time184.14(2014):38.
MiddleSearchPlus.Web.17Nov.2015.

"Ebola."
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"EbolaOutbreakof201415."
BritannicaSchool.
EncyclopdiaBritannica,Inc.,2015.Web.17
Nov.2015.

"EbolaVirusDisease."
WorldHealthOrganization
.Aug.2015.Web.16Nov.2015.

Gelletly,LeeAnne.
AIDSandHealthIssuesinAfrica.
Philadelphia:MasonCrest,2014.PDF.

Quammen,David."StalkingAKiller."NationalGeographic228.1(2015):30.MiddleSearch
Plus.Web.17Nov.2015.

Seppa,Nathan."ExperimentalTherapiesTargetEbola.(CoverStory)."ScienceNews186.6
(2014):6.MiddleSearchPlus.Web.17Nov.2015.

Sifferlin,Alexandra."EbolaCasesSpikingInWestAfricaAsDeathTollNears2,300."
Time.Com(2014):N.PAG.MiddleSearchPlus.Web.17Nov.2015.

TIME."TheEbolaFightHasReachedATurningPointInWestAfrica,TheWHOSays."
Time.Com(2015):N.PAG.MiddleSearchPlus.Web.17Nov.2015.

Willyard,Cassandra."02EbolaDrugsReachWestAfrica."PopularScience286.1(2015):40.
MiddleSearchPlus.Web.17Nov.2015.

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Outline

TheEpidemicthatBrokeAfrica
1.Introduction
Hook:Imagineyouhaveatwoyearoldchildbleedingfromhis,vomitingconstantly,and
havingdiarrheahesoondiesafter.
Thesis:EbolaisoneoftheworstdiseasestoravageitselfthroughoutAfrica.
2.Paragraph1
A.Definition:
B.History:
C.Facts:
3.Paragraph2
A.Prevention:
B.Spreading:
4.Paragraph3
A.Examples:
B.Findingacure:
5.Conclusion:TalkabouthowEbolaneedstobestoppedorwhatmightcomeoftheworldifwe
dontfindacure.