PUBH6006: Community Health And Disease Prevention

Running head: EMERGENCE RESPONSE PLAN IN NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASE 1
Emergence Response Plan in non-Communicable Disease
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EMERGENCE RESPONSE PLAN IN NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASE 2
Emergence Response Plan in non-Communicable Disease
Introduction
Ebola virus disease is a very dangerous disease that is transmitted from wild animals to human
being. The fatality rate of the disorder is estimated to be 50 percent. The first outbreak of the
virus causing disease was reported in Congo in the year 1976 (Tambo, Ugwu & Ngogang, 2014).
Since from that time, the outbreak of the virus has continued to affect people from different
countries especially these living in Africa. The African countries which have had Ebola outbreak
history include Ivory Coast, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, and Republic of
the Congo, Sudan and West African countries. The most recent outbreak was reported in Guinea
and its surrounding countries Nigeria, Liberia and Sierra Leone all located in West Africa
(World Health Organization, 2014). This outbreak is considered to be the largest in virus history
whereby most deaths were reported. Besides, in Australia, there has been a case of Ebola virus
disorder outbreak.
The Ebola virus is transmitted from wild animals to human being and it is known to spread
through man to man transmission. According to (Gostin & Friedman, 2015), Ebola virus is
known to infect and cause disorder to wild animals such as chimpanzees, monkeys, and gorillas
which is then spread by these animals to human beings. There are some risk factors that are
understood to have caused the chances of Ebola virus outbreak. Such risk factors include
individuals who are living in or nearby affected areas of Africa. The other risk factors is when
caring for individuals infected with Ebola virus and coming into contact with the body or fluid of
an infected individual or animals, or eating wild animals infected with Ebola virus (Gostin &
Friedman, 2015). It is transmitted from an individual to another via direct contact with body

EMERGENCE RESPONSE PLAN IN NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASE 3
fluids, secretions or through broken skin. The body fluid through which it is spread includes
vomit, urine, sweat, semen, and blood or breast milk. Transmission of the virus is also known to
occur via direct contact with objects which contains body fluids contaminated with Ebola virus.
As per the research, (Gostin & Friedman, 2015), the Ebola virus is known to target the host’s
immune system and the blood which results in a weakened immune system and bleeding. The
incubation period of the virus is between two to twenty-one days after which its characterized
symptoms occur. The symptoms and complications of Ebola virus include a headache, sore
throat, weakness, diarrhea, reduced kidney, and liver function and fever. Other symptoms
include measles-like rash, vomiting and muscle pains.
Community engagement and social mobilization
Sustained community engagement and social mobilization can play a key role in building
trust and confidence in response to the outbreak of Ebola virus disease. For the last years, there
have been fears and rumors about the disease. Many people have lost their loved ones as a result
of lack of knowledge about Ebola virus disease thus there is the need for everyone to be engaged
and mobilized for an emergency plan for the outbreak of the disease (Shuaib et al.,2015). In this
case, community engagement will be crucial in determining new Ebola Virus disorder cases and
tracing contacts of individuals who have been suffering from the disorder or have died as a result
of the disorder. In this effort, community members will require training in different aspects of the
response for safely and effective contribution of stopping the spreading of the disorder (World
Health Organization, 2014).
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