Ebola
Ebola is a deadly viral infection where patients usually have symptoms of fever, fatigue, vomiting, impaired kidney and liver function, and internal and external bleeding in some cases. The disease is generally passed from animal (generally fruit bats or primates) to human, but once a human is infected it can be transmitted through certain types of contact. Transmission (from person to person) occurs through direct contact of blood or other body fluids of an infected person or having direct contact with objects (such as needles) that have been contaminated with Ebola (CDC).
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Beginning in March 2014, a deadly outbreak of Ebola spread throughout West Africa and caused an international scare. This outbreak would not have been so big if other countries had stepped in sooner to help with funding and better healthcare. if they had had better healthcare options, procedures could have been done in sanitary ways that could have prevented further spread of the virus. Infected bodies were not always disposed of properly either, and this was a major cause of further spreading the virus. Out of 14,860 confirmed cases of Ebola in just the countries of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, 10,721 of cases resulted in death (CDC). If Africa had better healthcare and more help, not nearly as many people would have died.
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As the video above states, Ebola is not an airborne disease, although some people seemed to treat it as if it were. People who did not need to worry about being infected with the disease were starting to worry for no reason. These people would be those living in areas that were not originally associated with the disease, so people in the United States should not have worried as much as they did. There were doctors who had volunteered their time in Africa to help with the outbreak that returned to America and later tested positive for Ebola. But unless people came into direct contact with these infected people, they had nothing to worry about. While the threat of Ebola in general is a scary thing, the worst part about all of this is that this outbreak probably could have been easily contained early on if only others had stepped in sooner to provide better healthcare. This attention that the Ebola outbreak caused also hindered the fight against malaria, as you will read about in the next section.
Malaria
Malaria is prevalent disease in West Africa and kills hundreds of thousands people every year, despite the fact that it is a preventable and treatable disease. Malaria is a parasite carried by female mosquitoes, which then transfers to the host during the mosquito's feeding. Symptoms of malaria include: high fever, chills, shakiness, and other flu-like symptoms. One method of preventing malaria is to sleep under nets that have treated with insecticides; these nets prevent mosquitoes from entering the area where someone is sleeping so they are unable to feed on them.
There is a foundation called Nothing But Nets that is working to educate people on malaria and how deadly it can be. They even take donations to supply nets to families in need.
Due to the Ebola outbreak doctors had to cut back on drawing blood from patients to test them for malaria, and patients were also afraid to visit healthcare facilities to get tested. This means that many people who most likely had malaria were not getting any treatment. Without treatment these people will die. Even with this Ebola outbreak malaria is still one of the biggest killers in West Africa. In fact , it is the number one cause of death in children aged five years and younger, and is the second leading cause of death in adults, the leading cause being AIDS. An estimated 15,000 people, 14,000 of which were children, died of malaria last year in Guinea alone. That number will probably go up after the treatment of malaria was neglected during the Ebola outbreak (Associated Press).
There is a foundation called Nothing But Nets that is working to educate people on malaria and how deadly it can be. They even take donations to supply nets to families in need.
Due to the Ebola outbreak doctors had to cut back on drawing blood from patients to test them for malaria, and patients were also afraid to visit healthcare facilities to get tested. This means that many people who most likely had malaria were not getting any treatment. Without treatment these people will die. Even with this Ebola outbreak malaria is still one of the biggest killers in West Africa. In fact , it is the number one cause of death in children aged five years and younger, and is the second leading cause of death in adults, the leading cause being AIDS. An estimated 15,000 people, 14,000 of which were children, died of malaria last year in Guinea alone. That number will probably go up after the treatment of malaria was neglected during the Ebola outbreak (Associated Press).
Access to Clean Water
Many people in West Africa lack access to safe drinking water. The water they are drinking is unhealthy and is causing many to become infected with water-borne illnesses, such as cholera and malaria. Cholera is an infection of the intestinal tract that causes diarrhea and vomiting and can lead to severe dehydration which can lead to death if left untreated. It causes an estimated 100,000-120,000 deaths a year, though most cases could easily be treated (WHO).
There are groups and organizations that work very hard to help provide communities with safe drinking water; one of these organizations is called The Water Project. The Water Project is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating others on the importance of access to sanitary water and they help provide many areas with access to safe and clean water. They dedicate their time to build wells for safe drinking water, and they even help fund other water projects, such as rain catchment systems, dams, sanitation areas, and protecting natural springs. The Water Project is committed to providing access to clean water, so they don't just build a well for a community and then leave, they invest their time with the community teaching them how to work the well (or any other water project) and continually check in on the community to make sure things are running smoothly. You can get involved too by taking the Water Challenge!
HIV/AIDS
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HIV/AIDS is widespread throughout all of Africa. West Africa has many people living with HIV/AIDS, Nigeria alone has an estimated 3.4 million people living with it, and most of them do not even know they are infected because they refuse to tested because of the stigma that is associated with HIV/AIDS (Africa HIV and AIDS Statistics) This stigma typically associates the infected person with infidelity or prostitution. In a lot of cases, this stigma causes the infected person to be rejected from their families and outcast from their community, often having to try and start over in a new place. Since they do not know that they have HIV/AIDS, they can infect others and continue the spread of the disease. The best way to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS is to educate the public on how to prevent acquiring the disease.
References
2014 Ebola Outbreak in West Africa. (2015, April 21). Retrieved from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.cdc.go/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/2014-west-africa/index.html
Act Now. (2015). Retrieved from Nothing But Nets: http://www.nothingbutnets.net/new/act-now/
Africa HIV and AIDS Statistics. (2012). Retrieved from Avert: http://www.avert.org/africa-hiv-aids-statistics.htm
Blyth, M. (n.d.). Midnight in Pediatric. ECWA Evangel Hospital, Jos, Nigeria.
Cholera. (2015). Retrieved from World Health Organization: http://www.who.int/topics/cholera/en/
Malanoqa. (n.d.). 2014 West African Ebola Epidemic. Wikipedia.
Malaria -- Prevention. (2014, September 1). Retrieved from NHS UK: http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Malaria/Pages/Prevention.aspx
Malaria. (2015, March 27). Retrieved from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/index.html
Associated Press. (2014, December 28). Malaria Killing Thousands More Than Ebola in West Africa.
Water Scarcity & The Importance of Water. (2015). Retrieved from The Water Project: http://thewaterproject.org/water_scarcity
Act Now. (2015). Retrieved from Nothing But Nets: http://www.nothingbutnets.net/new/act-now/
Africa HIV and AIDS Statistics. (2012). Retrieved from Avert: http://www.avert.org/africa-hiv-aids-statistics.htm
Blyth, M. (n.d.). Midnight in Pediatric. ECWA Evangel Hospital, Jos, Nigeria.
Cholera. (2015). Retrieved from World Health Organization: http://www.who.int/topics/cholera/en/
Malanoqa. (n.d.). 2014 West African Ebola Epidemic. Wikipedia.
Malaria -- Prevention. (2014, September 1). Retrieved from NHS UK: http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Malaria/Pages/Prevention.aspx
Malaria. (2015, March 27). Retrieved from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/index.html
Associated Press. (2014, December 28). Malaria Killing Thousands More Than Ebola in West Africa.
Water Scarcity & The Importance of Water. (2015). Retrieved from The Water Project: http://thewaterproject.org/water_scarcity