The scene is grim. Headlines surface one after another depicting the rampant spread of the Ebola virus. Clinics and hospitals in the West African region are swamped with cases. Streets once bustling and full of life are now eerily quiet: no hugging, touching, even standing a bit too close — because one slight brush against a friend or family member could mean death. As the toll rises, fear amongst inhabitants of both the villages and major cities are almost palpable.
This recent outbreak prompts the question as to how these contagious and life-threatening diseases are so easily penetrating society. There’s an urgent need for health screening centers in airports and on borders between nations ravaged by epidemics.
Before understanding the effects of the epidemic, however, one must understand the actual virus. The Ebola virus is known as a hemorrhagic fever, and those affected experience symptoms such as severe headache, muscle pain, extreme fatigue, vomiting and diarrhea. Although some are inexplicably able to fight off the disease, 50 percent die within 10 days of contracting the fatal virus. The very first instance of Ebola was found in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1976 near the Ebola River and has since spread throughout West Africa.
Perhaps the most worrisome aspect of the disease is how it is transmitted and the severity with which this transmission occurs. The Ebola virus is highly infectious and can pass from one person to another through the transmission of various bodily fluids, including urine, blood, feces, vomit, sweat or even a single tear. The disease spreads rapidly and spares no one — any person who is exposed to an Ebola patient and does not take the necessary precautions will contract it. This is why the most concentrated instances of Ebola are centered around health care facilities and health care workers, as well as the family and friends of sick patients.
The current epidemic is one of the largest in the history of the virus and is primarily affecting four West African countries: Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. Cases of Ebola have also recently been found in Senegal. More than 3,000 people have contracted the virus, which has claimed approximately 1,500 lives. A few stories in particular stand out. One university student from Guinea entered Senegal with Ebola, and the disease has now taken the lives of 500 people in the region. And at a healer’s funeral in Sierra Leone, 14 women contracted Ebola and unknowingly started the spread across the nation. It’s frightening to think a single person could bring about the deaths of hundreds of people simply because of a lack of awareness.
Thousands of people have died because of one isolated case, something that could have been stopped if the incident was contained and dealt with. Instead, the virus continues to travel. Villages and cities are being sealed off completely, but something instrumental needs to change in how nations deal with epidemics to this degree to prevent the spread nation to nation. This is precisely why governments need to implement health screening centers at border security checkpoints and airports to protect the lives of inhabitants and treat those who may be sick before they have the chance to infect more people.
In the case of Ebola, screening could occur in as non-invasive a way as possible, such as temperature screening, as fever is a tell-tale sign of the virus. Screening centers could check symptoms of those who were running a high fever or experiencing any other sickness upon entrance to nations. Instead of cancelling flights and closing borders, as some countries have done throughout the epidemic, implementing these centers would protect inhabitants of the nation in question, as well as those traveling, without completely shutting down the transport system. This would be a valuable and relatively cost-effective way to protect citizens and enhance overall health. Simple routine checks between nations could prevent the spread of Ebola and contain it so that it could be dealt with effectively and efficiently. Until this kind of technology is put into practice, the Ebola virus will undoubtedly continue to stretch across the African continent, crossing borders and taking innocent lives wherever it reaches.