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Written By: Editorial Team | Published : October 18, 2014 10:57 AM IST
In a bid to fight the rapid spread of the Ebola virus disease, the African Union Support to Ebola Outbreak in West Africa (ASEOWA), a team formed for emergency response on Ebola that is under the African Union Commission (AUC) Social Affairs, has urged the Indian government to lend support with medical human resources.
The Indian government has had disasters, including natural and human made in many aspects and is very good at emergency preparedness and emergency response, hence, working with them in that aspect could really be supportive to tackle the issues, according to Mustapha Sidiki Kaloko, the commissioner for social affairs at the AUC.
'India has a lot of medical doctors and trained personnel which the government deploys in various cases like this. So they could send a few for us as we are having a shortage in that regard,' Kaloko told IANS. Currently, the Commission is facing challenges with fighting the Ebola epidemic in terms of infrastructure, treatment centres, hospitals and others in almost all the three West African countries affected by the diesase. However, the international community after a meeting in the UN has committed itself in those countries.
For instance, US will lead the efforts to create all the necessary infrastructure in Liberia, Briatin will do the same in Sierra Leone, and France in Guinea , according to Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, chairperson of the AUC. 'Not many countries have pledged on human resources and yet if the infrastructure is built it will need human resources and health workers to work in those hospitals and treatment centres and that is why we are urging not only our member countries but also the international community to deploy volunteers and medical team,' Zuma told IANS.
The ASEOWA has sent 100 volunteers who will return back in a week. After that, it will need to send 100 more volunteers for another deployment. Over the next six weeks, it is looking at at least 500 medical personnel to be deployed. 'Our challenge is medical human resources and India is exemplary in terms of tackling disasters and we believe that is something we should all be looking at', Kaloko said. (Read: What is the Ebola virus disease survival rate?)
'I think international solidarity means that they must work with us and the sensible thing to for every country is to be ready and find ways to contain the epidemic. Who knows where it is going to be next?' In addition to the human resources, the AUC has task of collecting around $35 million and so far $18 million have been collected from the US, Britain , China, Norway and other partners. The time frame is for six months starting from August. India, as part of the global efforts to combat the Ebola virus disease (EVD) in the West Africa region, had earlier pledged $500,000 to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and medical supplies worth $50,000 each to Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, where the Ebola outbreak has caused untold misery among the people. (Read: How the Ebola virus spreads in humans)
Additionally, Sep 25, the Indian government decided to contribute $10 million to the newly set up United Nations Trust Fund for Ebola and a further assistance of $2 million in the form of supply of protective gear to personnel deployed in the region. India's assistance to the efforts both regional and global now stands at about $13 million. According to the AU, officials are now putting together a team to go to Guinea in the coming weeks on rotating basis with the hope of 'breaking the cycle of the outbreak in about six months. The epidemic, which has plagued West Africa since last March, especially Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, has already caused 4,493 deaths and infected 8,997 people, according to latest data from the World Health Organisation. (Read: Are there any natural remedies for the virus?)
Here s are some interesting facts about the Ebola virus that make it so deadly.
It can kill within seven days: Unlike other viruses (like HIV) that can remain dormant in a person for years without causing the disease, Ebola violently multiplies until the viral particles are amplified to about 100 million viral particles in a droplet of blood. Further, without resting in a dormant stage the virus kills the host to find a new one. The fatality rate of the disease is 60 percent.
There is no vaccine or treatment available: What makes this virus deadly is the fact that researchers have not been able to find an effective treatment or preventive technique to combat the virus and the spread of the disease. The experimental drug Zmapp has shown promising results but the safety and efficacy of the drug are to be evaluated. So, as of now, neither do we have an effective form of therapy nor do we have a vaccine to prevent the disease.
Attacks every part of the human body: Ebola only needs a host cell that can help it produce multiple copies of itself. What worsens the condition is the fact that the virus does not need a specific type of cell to multiply (unlike other deadly diseases). According to studies, except for skeletal muscles and bones, the virus is known to infect every part of the human body. Connective tissues, the ones that hold your internal organs in place, are primary targets of the virus. Read more about 10 reasons that make the Ebola virus deadly for humans
With inputs from IANS
Photo source: Getty images
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