The Ebola and Hantavirus Outbreaks Offer an Ominous Warning
The ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo highlights the challenges of controlling infectious diseases in resource-limited settings. Concurrently, a hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship raises concerns about the increasing frequency of such zoonotic diseases. Experts warn that habitat destruction, industrial farming, and climate change are exacerbating the risk of future pandemics.
- ▪Ebola has a roughly 50-50 chance of survival, with many victims suffering severe symptoms.
- ▪The current Ebola outbreak is occurring alongside a hantavirus outbreak that emerged on a cruise ship.
- ▪Emerging infectious diseases often originate from animals, with habitat destruction and climate change increasing spillover risks.
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Ebola, which is currently spreading in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), is a nightmare disease. The virus floods the immune system, eventually shredding our vasculature. There’s a roughly 50-50 shot at survival, and the unlucky half will die in agony, bleeding profusely as their organs begin to fail.I’ve seen this story before. For nearly a decade, I worked for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fighting epidemics around the world. In 2014, I deployed to Liberia for the largest-ever outbreak of Ebola, then five years later to DRC for the second-largest Ebola outbreak ever. In these resource-limited settings, infection control is tough.
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