CDC head warns of the window of opportunity closing to stop the rapid spread of the Ebola virus
Dr. Tom Frieden, who is the head of the Center for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC), warned the international community that “the window of opportunity” is closing to stop the rapid spread of the Ebola virus from the West African countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Nigeria to other countries throughout the world.
Frieden is quoted in the CDC press release as saying, “The window of opportunity to stop Ebola from spreading widely throughout Africa and becoming a global threat for years to come is closing, but it is not closed yet.”
The Ebola outbreak began in July and has mainly impacted Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Nigeria.
The United Nations (UN) reported in a press release that the World Health Organization (WHO) recorded over 3900 cases and over 2000 deaths associated with the Ebola virus.
According to the UN, the majority of the cases have occurred in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Nigeria.
The UN said in the press release that it will take approximately $600 million to combat the disease.
In 2010, the National Institute of Health (NIH) released a report by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) that gave some insight into why the Ebola virus is so deadly.
According to NIADI’s report, the Ebola virus has a protein on its surface that allows the virus to shut down the “human immune system.”
As a result of the immune system being shut down, the body is not able to fight off the virus. CBS reported that scientist tested a new vaccine on monkeys and in some cases the vaccine successfully reversed the effects of the Ebola protein, which shuts down the immune system.
CBS noted that the monkeys needed two shots of the vaccine in order to fight off the Ebola virus. CBS also said that although the vaccine provides some hope, scientists warned that the new vaccine hasn’t been used on humans and the effects on the human body are not clear.
Frieden is quoted in the CDC press release as saying, “The window of opportunity to stop Ebola from spreading widely throughout Africa and becoming a global threat for years to come is closing, but it is not closed yet.”
The Ebola outbreak began in July and has mainly impacted Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Nigeria.
The United Nations (UN) reported in a press release that the World Health Organization (WHO) recorded over 3900 cases and over 2000 deaths associated with the Ebola virus.
According to the UN, the majority of the cases have occurred in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Nigeria.
The UN said in the press release that it will take approximately $600 million to combat the disease.
In 2010, the National Institute of Health (NIH) released a report by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) that gave some insight into why the Ebola virus is so deadly.
According to NIADI’s report, the Ebola virus has a protein on its surface that allows the virus to shut down the “human immune system.”
As a result of the immune system being shut down, the body is not able to fight off the virus. CBS reported that scientist tested a new vaccine on monkeys and in some cases the vaccine successfully reversed the effects of the Ebola protein, which shuts down the immune system.
CBS noted that the monkeys needed two shots of the vaccine in order to fight off the Ebola virus. CBS also said that although the vaccine provides some hope, scientists warned that the new vaccine hasn’t been used on humans and the effects on the human body are not clear.
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