From the article:
At the end of last week, the World Health Organization declared the West African Ebola outbreak an international health emergency. The move was largely symbolic, however, as the organization didn’t suggest trade and travel restrictions. This reflects the fact that the chances of a global epidemic are considerably overblown. Even in the West African countries where the disease has spread, it’s still far down the list of killers. Over the past few months, infections such as malaria and tuberculosis have caused far more deaths in the region than Ebola.
At the same time, the Ebola outbreak is a wakeup call to governments everywhere: The international health system is broken. Preventing a recurrence of this tragedy will require more money and attention on global progress against infectious disease and epidemics.
As of Aug. 6, 1,779 cases of Ebola had been reported to the WHO, including 961 deaths. Of the four countries suffering the outbreak, Sierra Leone (with 717 cases) was affected the worst. The country’s first reported Ebola deaths were in April this year. In approximately four months, Sierra Leone suffered a total of 298 deaths. More are surely to come.
Read the article here
