title: Ebola: is the response justified?
abstract: Ebola virus disease is a viral hemorrhagic fever, first discovered in 1976 in Sudan, where the outbreak infected over 284 people with a 53% case fatality ratio. There have been 34 further epidemics, the current major incident in West Africa having recorded more cases and deaths than all previous outbreaks combined. To date there have been over 27, 000 confirmed, probable and suspected cases and 11,000 reported deaths in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. With total funding and pledges to help control the outbreak amounting to more than US $2.4 billion, many question how the disease has continued to spread in Sierra Leone and Guinea Conakry, and whether the response to the outbreak has been justified. This article aims to analyze the effectiveness of the responses to the outbreak in terms of economic, social, cultural and, to an extent, political impact. We argue that the response has been justified due to the awareness raised, the infrastructure and staffing improvements, the success in receiving financial aid and the minimal spread to other countries outside the main transmission zone. Despite this, some failures in communication and a slow early response were noted.
authors.affiliation: Medical Education Research Unit, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Hannah
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.affiliation: Medical Education Research Unit, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Aisha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chaudry
authors.affiliation: MRC Unit The Gambia, Atlantic Road, Fajara, The Gambia, Gambia; Department of Medicine, St Mary's Hospital campus, Imperial College London, W2 1NY, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Gibril
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ndow
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, St Mary's Hospital campus, Imperial College London, W2 1NY, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Mary Me
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Crossey
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, St Mary's Hospital campus, Imperial College London, W2 1NY, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Debbie
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Garside
authors.affiliation: MRC Unit The Gambia, Atlantic Road, Fajara, The Gambia, Gambia.
authors.forename: Ramou
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Njie
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, St Mary's Hospital campus, Imperial College London, W2 1NY, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Simon D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Taylor-Robinson
mesh_terms: D000354:Africa, Western / Q000453:epidemiology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000191:economics / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005381:Financing, Organized / Q000191:economics*; D019142:Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D011057:Politics; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
keywords: Ebola; outbreak; response