Globalization and Public Health Management of Ebola

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Master of Public health
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Introduction:
The human civilization has been prone to many maladies over the course of time
which have shaped the doctrines and frameworks of healthcare systems all over the world.
Public health systems are primarily required to address contextual environments while
dealing with outbreaks of communicable diseases. One of the prominent examples of such
outbreak could be identified in the Ebola outbreak of West Africa. The following assessment
is intended to identify the significance of globalization in terms of public health and the
subsequent impact on public health management of Ebola and measures taken to address the
condition. The particular highlights of the assessment would include a brief illustration of
source of Ebola, its background and routes of transmission followed by its impact on humans.
Another specific aspect of the assessment could be identified in the comparison of Ebola to
other conditions such as Polio, chicken pox and the H1N1 avian flu virus which have
vaccines from a socio-political perspective. This would be characterized by reflecting
profoundly on the reasons for which Ebola does not have a vaccine. The final section of the
assessment would be dedicated to evaluation of public health management and prevention
strategies for Ebola with respect to the differences among wealthy and poor nations
(Cushman et al., 2015). The discussion in the assessment could be used for deriving
appropriate response to the question, ‘How has globalization influenced the public health
management and prevention of Ebola?’
Ebola background:
The first known outbreaks of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) can be traced back to 1976
in two different locations, Nzara in South Sudan and Yambuku in the Democratic Republic of
Congo. The disease obtains its signature name from the Ebola River since the second
outbreak was in a village in Yambuku which was near the river. However, the most
prominent Ebola outbreak was in 2014-2016 in West Africa since the discovery of the virus.
The severity of the outbreak was noticed in the considerably identified in the magnitude of
cases and deaths alongside its transmission across borders. The outbreak spread to Liberia
and Sierra Leone after originating in Guinea (Gemmell & Harrison, 2017). The concerns of
EVD are identified in the resultant fatal hemorrhagic fever which could be induced through
infection by any Ebola virus strains. The commonly identified Ebola virus species amount to
five among which one is responsible for causing the disease in non-human primates. The five
species of Ebola virus are Zaire ebolavirus, Sudan ebolavirus, Bundibugyo ebolavirus, Tai

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Forest ebolavirus and the Reston ebolavirus that does not cause Ebola in humans. In order to
ascertain the symptoms of EVD it is essential to identify the incubation period for the virus
that can be defined as the period between infection and the first sighting of symptoms. In the
case of Ebola virus, the incubation period ranges from 2 to 21 days. The first symptoms noted
at the onset of the disease include fever, muscle pain, sore throat, fatigue and headache. The
following conditions become complex with rashes, diarrhoea and symptoms of kidney and
liver impairment as well as possibilities of internal and external bleeding in certain cases.
These factors are clearly indicative of the impact of EVD on humans (Hobson, 2017).
The transmission of the disease is also considered as an ambiguous aspect since there
is no clear estimation of the source of the disease. However, the common assumption
pertaining to its transmission is generally identified as a spill-over event when a human
comes in contact with an infected animal followed by person to person transmission. The
commonly identified sources of infection are fruit bats, porcupines, forest antelope and
primates such as gorillas and chimpanzees (Rosen, 2015). The route of spill-over event is
identified in contact with bodily fluids of infected animals while person to person
transmission occurs through contact with bodily fluids of patients that have deceased or are
sympathetic with respect to EVD. Person to person transmission of Ebola is facilitated
through direct contact of mucous membranes or broken skin with infected body fluids, blood,
infected animals and objects as well as sexual transmission. It is also imperative to note that
Ebola is not transmitted through air or water and insects such as mosquitoes. The only
animals that have been found to be vectors of EVD are few mammalian species largely
referring to primates. After transmission between hosts, the virus enters the mucosal surface
and inhibits the host immune response that provides the opportunity for viral replication in
dendritic cells, monocytes and macrophages. In the following stages, the virus is transmitted
to the spleen and liver through the bloodstream that lead to reduction in levels of Protein C,
deregulation of the coagulation cascade, severe chemokine and cytokine responses and
release of tissue factor from macrophages and monocytes (Macintyre et al., 2015).
Ebola vaccine:
The detrimental consequences of the Ebola outbreak can be compared to a
catastrophic event that led to loss of over 11000 lives and infecting around 28000 people.
Therefore, it is imperative to consider the implications of a lack of vaccine for Ebola in this
scenario which could have otherwise prevented the numerous losses of lives. Hence it is