Brittni Brown examines the rise of new concerns on the heels of the decreasing Ebola epidemic in Western Africa.
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The steady decrease in the number of new Ebola cases in Western Africa is certainly a breath of relief not only for the unfortunate nations struck by the outbreak, but for everyone involved on the world’s stage. But before we start patting ourselves on the back for successfully stemming the epidemic, we need to take a much more critical look at the implications associated with the most recent Ebola outbreak.
As many healthcare professionals are packing their bags and heading home, numerous professional organizations are beginning to examine the handling of the outbreak and spread of the virus seriously, and coming up with some terrifying assessments of our risk for a global disease outbreak. By scrutinizing mishaps in management, we can conclude that both current policies and technological infrastructure inhibit even the most developed nations from capably managing a health crisis of that scale successfully on their own soil.
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The hard work of a substantial number of medical volunteers from across the globe helped address problems associated with a general inability to handle the outbreak – understaffed and underfunded medical facilities. During the height of the epidemic, most local hospitals simply didn’t have the staff or infrastructure to handle the rising influx of patients.
Even with a substantial increase in funding from international donations, many West African countries have not adequately compensated their medical teams on the front lines. The problem has been linked in part to corrupt officials, but also exemplifies how much funding is needed for many underdeveloped hospitals to catch up and provide even basic healthcare – a key step in stopping disease outbreaks early. Medical professionals that are overworked and underpaid in dangerous conditions has resulted in more mistakes and fewer precautions, which can aggravate the risks for contracting Ebola.
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Although many developed countries stepped up to deliver essential aid in the form of money and healthcare professionals in the greatest time of need, much of it was largely inefficient due to an evident lack of a formal plan on the part of large health organizations. One of these well intended but ultimately misguided efforts was in the United States’ effort to build treatment centers in Liberia.
As of April 2015, only 28 Ebola patients have been treated in the 11 treatment compounds built by the US military. Most were treated in large temporary treatment facilities or already existing hospitals. This failure highlights the lack of ability to respond adequately to the spread of Ebola, which was declining rapidly in Liberia before the first clinic was even scheduled to open.
It is worth acknowledging that should an outbreak occur in most developed countries, neither providing sufficient treatment centers nor compensating dedicated employees will be a significant problem. However, technical infrastructure is still lacking severely and could limit our ability to clot isolated incidents before they became full-on epidemics.
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For instance, the United States is currently struggling to convince many doctors of the benefits of utilizing health informatics, which is planned to streamline information sharing and accuracy, as well as decrease malpractice claims and numerous healthcare expenses. In 2013 alone, the US spent nearly $21 million on implementing electronic health records in hospitals. There have been clear advances in the process, but we are a long way from actually seeing them functioning seamlessly throughout the country.
Public policy issues are also likely to inhibit the ability of the United States to effectively limit the impacts of an outbreak. Amidst massive public fears and speculations of an imminent epidemic in the US, lawmakers still had difficulty creating and enforcing appropriate quarantines. Many leaders were misinformed about how the disease spreads and created ineffective precautions, while other guidelines were not even effective in preventing the infection of medical personnel within treatment centers.
Right now, we have all of the necessary tools to be ready for an epidemic at home when it comes. The largest limitation we currently face of the complete lack of an emergency health risk plan, but with the right research, infrastructure, and policies in place – not only locally but globally – defending ourselves from massive epidemics is within reach. In the words of Bill Gates, “There is no need to panic… but we need to get going.”
Photo Credit #ISurvivedEbola