Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-v9fdk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-17T14:42:08.657Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Role of Public Knowledge, Resources, and Innovation in Responding to the Ebola Outbreak

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 April 2015

Brian J. Goldstone  and
Brandon Brown
Brian J. Goldstone
Affiliation:
History Department, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
Brandon Brown*
Affiliation:
Program in Public Health, University of California, Irvine, California
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Brandon Brown, MPH, PhD, Program in Public Health, 653 E Peltason Dr, 2024 AIRB, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697 (e-mail: brandon.brown@uci.edu).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Since the beginning of the recent Ebola outbreak, a sense of fear has developed among the public due to the novelty of our exposure to the virus and the ill-equipped nature of our health care systems. Media sensationalism, coupled with improper knowledge of Ebola, may have contributed to mass hysteria. Most support to tackle Ebola has been direct monetary aid. However, others are working on innovative methods to control the epidemic, including the development of rapid detection methods, experimental treatments, and a viable vaccine. Rapid screening and vaccine ideas are promising, but it is unlikely that they will be ready in the coming months. This raises the question of what other tools and technological innovation can be developed to effectively stem the spread of the outbreak. Although we hope the continued outpouring of aid and health care workers to West Africa will greatly reduce the impact of Ebola, communication, screenings, treatment, and vaccine are of central importance to stop this outbreak. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2015;9:595–597)

Keywords

EbolainnovationWest Africaknowledgeresources
Type
Commentaries
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 9 , Issue 5 , October 2015 , pp. 595 - 597
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa. CDC website. http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/2014-west-africa/index.html. Accessed October 26, 2014.Google Scholar
2. World Health Organization (WHO). Unprecedented number of medical staff infected with Ebola. WHO website. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/ebola/25-august-2014/en/. Published August 25, 2014. Accessed October 27, 2014.Google Scholar
3. Vogel, G. Testing new Ebola tests. Science. 2014;345:1549-1550. DOI: 10.1126/science.345.6204.154. Science magazine website. http://www.sciencemag.org/content/345/6204/1549.full. Published September 26, 2014. Accessed October 27, 2014.Google Scholar
4. Khan, AS, Tshioko, FK, Heymann, DL, et al. The reemergence of Ebola hemorrhagic fever, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1995. Commission de Lutte contre les Epidémies à Kikwit. J Infect Dis. 1999;179(suppl 1):S76-S86.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5. Jones, J. Ebola, emerging: the limitations of culturalist discourses in epidemiology. J Global Health. 2011;1(1):1-5.Google Scholar
6. Williams, K. Emory freshmen determined to build a fast, portable Ebola test. Emory News Center. Emory University website. http://news.emory.edu/stories/2014/09/er_freshmen_build_ebola_test/campus.html. Published September 26, 2014. Accessed October 27, 2014.Google Scholar
7. Hewlett, BS, Amola, RP. Cultural contexts of Ebola in Northern Uganda. Emerg Infect Dis. 2003;9:1242-1248.Google Scholar
8. Casillas, A, Nyamathi, A, Sosa, A, et al. A current review of Ebola virus: pathogenesis, clinical presentation, and diagnostic assessment. Biol Res Nurs. 2003;4:268-275.Google Scholar
9. Lowery, W, Evans, W, Gower, KK, et al. Effective media communication of disasters: pressing problems and recommendations. BMC Public Health. 2007;7:97.Google Scholar
10. Linshi, J. Here’s how much money the world has spent battling Ebola. Time magazine website. http://time.com/3393656/ebola-donations-funding/. Published September 17, 2014. Accessed October 27, 2014.Google Scholar
11. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Commits $50 Million to Support Emergency Response to Ebola. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Folayan, Mwebsite. http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Media-Center/Press-Releases/2014/09/Gates-Foundation-Commits-$50%20Million-to-Support-Emergency-Response-to-Ebola. Published September 10, 2014. Accessed October 27, 2014.Google Scholar
12. Molina, B. Microsoft co-founder Allen to give $100M to fight Ebola. USA Today website. http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/10/23/allen-ebola/17781811/. Published October 23, 2014. Accessed October 27, 2014.Google Scholar
13. Geisbert, T. Medical research: Ebola therapy protects severely ill monkeys. Nature. 2014;514:41-43.Google Scholar
14. World Health Organization (WHO). Ethical considerations for use of unregistered Interventions for Ebola virus disease (EVD). WHO website. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/2014/ebola-ethical-review-summary/en/. Published August 12, 2014. Accessed October 30, 2014.Google Scholar
15. Lyon, GM, Mehta, AK, Varkey, JB, et al. Clinical care of two patients with Ebola virus disease in the United States. N Engl J Med. 2014;371:2402-2409.Google Scholar
16. Folayan, M, Brown, B, Yakubu, A. Black market blood transfusions for Ebola: potential for increases in other infections. Glob Health Action. 2014;7:26356.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
17. Morello, L. Millions of doses of Ebola vaccine to be ready by end of 2015. Scientific American Global RSS. Nature News Blog, http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/millions-of-doses-of-ebola-vaccine-to-be-ready-by-end-of-2015/. Published October 27, 2014. Accessed October 27, 2014.Google Scholar
18. World Health Organization (WHO). Liberia: new Ebola mobile lab speeds up diagnosis and improves care. WHO website. http://www.who.int/features/2014/liberia-mobile-ebola-lab/en/. Published October 2014. Accessed October 27, 2014.Google Scholar
19. Inglis, T. Developed nations must not fear sending Ebola help. Nature World View. 2014;514:537.Google Scholar
20. Frieden TR, Damon I, Bell, BP, et al. Ebola 2014—new challenges, new global response and responsibility. N Engl J Med. 2014;371:1177-1180.CrossRefGoogle Scholar