While the rest of the world is panicking about Covid-19, many other conflicts around the globe are quickly forgotten. In Congo, the fight against Ebola is still a major concern, perhaps more on the forefront of people’s minds compared to the coronavirus. I remember a few years back when everyone was freaking out about Ebola, and then it just suddenly disappeared. I guess when it’s a disease primarily affecting people in Africa, the rest of the world just doesn’t seem to care as much. We declared ourselves safe and quickly went back about our business, paying no mind to the suffering of people in the rest of the world.
The current outbreak in Congo began in 2018 and was almost over until Friday, April 10, when a new case was reported. They had almost made it two incubation periods until this setback occurred. This outbreak was particularly hard to deal with due to the amount of mistrust between people who live in Congo and their perception of foreign aid. Many simply don’t believe Ebola exists, and are wary of health care workers who try to take away their loved ones. There have been increases on attacks of healthcare workers and foreign aid workers, making this outbreak particularly difficult to control. The steps taken to mitigate this has been to have a transparent box to treat patients, so that their families can see and ensure their loved ones are doing well.
Another key instrument in curbing this outbreak has been the development of a vaccine. Over 256,000 people have been vaccinated, helping to stop those infected from spreading it those they come in contact with. As of currently there are still no FDA approved treatments for Ebola, though there are many drugs in trial. However, there has been a lack of US funding during this outbreak, making it difficult to gather resources to help curb the outbreak. Despite the fact that the rest of the world is so focused on coronavirus, we must not forget that there are other deadly diseases out there as well.
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