The 2019 coronavirus epidemic has not subsided globally, and in recent months another infectious disease has emerged once more. On September 20 this year, Uganda in East Africa announced the outbreak of Ebola (Ebola), and within two months at least 141 people were diagnosed and 55 people died of the disease; MSF began to respond quickly at the end of September, assisting the Ugandan Ministry of Health Fight the Ebola epidemic, dubbed the “virus of the century” by the media, with the local community.
Ebola is a serious and fatal disease with a mortality rate of up to 90%. In early November, the World Health Organization raised the country’s epidemic risk rating from “high” to “very high”, and the regional level also changed from low risk to high risk, while the global assessment maintained low risk.
Photo: Doctors Without Borders
When Uganda declared an Ebola outbreak in late September, MSF responded quickly, including building two Ebola treatment centers in Mubende District, the epicenter of the outbreak. © Augustin Westphal/MSF
Urgent response to the challenge of the epidemic
Ebola virus has been discovered in the Democratic Republic of Congo since 1976, and there are several variants so far. The most common strain of the virus in the past decade has been the Zaire virus strain. With the advancement of medicine, the response to the Zaire virus strain has continued to progress. There are now two approved vaccines and an antibody therapy. However, the current outbreak in Uganda is caused by a relatively rare Sudan virus strain, and there is still no vaccine or treatment for this virus variant; although the WHO currently has three candidate vaccines, clinical trials are still pending. Let alone for public use.
MSF has responded to Ebola outbreaks many times. Although this outbreak in Uganda presents more medical and operational challenges, the organization still quickly launched emergency response work. A team of doctors, nurses, logisticians, infection prevention and control experts, and health promoters is currently focusing on three areas, including curbing further spread of the epidemic, reducing mortality, and assisting epidemiological surveillance, research, and innovation.
MSF is working with the Ugandan Ministry of Health to help with the Ebola response. © Sam Taylor/MSF
Reduce the risk of transmission early
In the Mubende district at the epicenter of the outbreak, for example, MSF teams sent teams to places close to Ebola patients, such as health centers or schools where the confirmed patients had been, to provide support in infection prevention or health care. suggestion. Health promoters are also responsible for identifying and monitoring contacts, hoping to detect those at risk of infection early, and at the same time supporting local facilities in areas affected by the epidemic to continue to provide free primary medical care. Outreach project coordinator Mbai explained that shortening the time between the appearance of early symptoms and receiving treatment is one of the most important goals in controlling the Ebola epidemic. In addition to improving the patient’s chances of survival, it can also reduce the risk of community transmission.
In addition, MSF continues to assist the Ministry of Health in providing care for confirmed patients, including the establishment of two Ebola treatment centers in Mubende, and in Madudu and Bweyongedde, which are close to the hardest hit areas Smaller treatment wards mainly treat early stage patients.
MSF’s Ebola treatment center in Mubende is used to treat and isolate suspected and confirmed patients. © Sam Taylor/MSF
Invest in research into vaccine treatments
Finally, in terms of epidemiology, MSF’s Infectious Disease Research Center is working with the Ugandan Ministry of Health to support epidemiological surveillance, infection control and prevention, and is also ready to participate in research on vaccines and treatments for the Sudanese Ebola virus strain. “In the 2018-2019 outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the vaccines and treatments that were approved to be effective once morest the Zhai virus strain, and the management of the subsequent outbreak, were all part of the control effort,” said Johnson, an expert on vaccines and epidemic response at MSF. A key tool in the spread of the virus. These tools, while they can be tested early to ensure safety, often can only be tested during an outbreak. Therefore, clinical trials of vaccines and treatments for the Zay virus strain, as they were in the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the time, have no borders Physicians are now ready to invest heavily in this research.”
It has been more than two months since the Ebola outbreak in Uganda. Although the epidemic has shown signs of slowing down recently, the contact tracing rate in the country is still low. In addition, there is not much experience in dealing with Ebola outbreaks in the past. Therefore, all parties should not Take it lightly, beware that the Sudanese virus strain without effective vaccine and treatment spreads everywhere, endangering more lives.
Medical staff must don personal protective equipment before entering the grounds of the Ebola treatment center. © Sam Taylor/MSF
Transmission and Symptoms of Ebola Virus
Ebola virus can be spread rapidly through direct contact with infected people or animals, including dead bodies, through bodily fluids or even clothing worn by sick people. The initial symptoms of Ebola patients are not unique and therefore difficult to diagnose. Initial symptoms include sudden fever, fatigue, muscle aches, headache and sore throat, followed by vomiting, diarrhea, rash, kidney or liver failure, and internal and external bleeding.
Healthcare workers carefully remove personal protective equipment as they leave an Ebola treatment center. © Sam Taylor/MSF
Hong Kong rescue workers have participated in the response to the Ebola outbreak in the past
From 2014 to 2016, the worst Ebola epidemic in history broke out in West Africa, killing more than 11,323 people in West Africa and a few European and American countries. At that time, MSF mobilized on a large scale to help fight the epidemic, and the Hong Kong office also sent more than 27 rescuers to the local area, including Zhao Zhuobong, who was originally a nurse in the emergency room. He was the first Hong Kong medical staff to participate in the response to Ebola; Liu Xiaojing, a logistician who served as the project coordinator in Hong Kong to respond to the local COVID-19 epidemic, also went to West Africa to support the Ebola epidemic response project.
In Madudu town, MSF health promoters explain Ebola virus information to local shopkeepers. © Sam Taylor/MSF
Zhao Zhuobang, a nurse in the emergency department in Hong Kong, went to Liberia in 2014 to participate in the response to the Ebola epidemic at that time. A boy took a photo with Zhao Zhuobang when he recovered and was discharged from the hospital. Like other recovered patients, he printed his palm prints on the wall outside the treatment center to strengthen the local people’s confidence in overcoming the epidemic. © MSF
The article was published in the December 14, 2022 column “Knowledge Without Borders” in the middle school student newspaper “S-file Civics/General Studies”.
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