BLOG #5: Measles Threat
Looms in West Africa Following Ebola Outbreak
According
to the World Health Organization, the Ebola outbreak has killed well over
10,000 people in West Africa, particularly in the countries of Guinea, Liberia,
and Sierra Leone. The number of deaths
has dramatically decreased in these areas due to efforts of soldiers and
medical professionals sent from the United States, Great Britain, and other
nations. However, a new threat looms
over West Africa. The measles virus has
the potential to be an even bigger threat to Africa than Ebola. There has been a drop in the amount of
children getting vaccinated in West Africa.
“It’s so transmissible, and it’s one of the first diseases you often see
when there are crises leading to reduction in the vaccination rates,” stated
Justin Lessler of John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. There are more than 1.1 million unvaccinated
children due to the Ebola outbreak. Also,
the measles virus is highly contagious and an outbreak could be very devastating. Researchers say that if an outbreak of
measles occurred in West Africa, there could be as many as 227,000 cases and up
to 16,000 deaths resulting from the virus, surpassing the total amount of
deaths caused by the Ebola outbreak.
Most of the victims of the potential outbreak would be young
children. A global response is more than
likely to be slow as it was with the Ebola outbreak. A measles outbreak could affect more than
200,000 people in West Africa. It is
difficult for researchers to predict when a measles outbreak will occur, where
it will occur, and how long the outbreak will last.
I
am terrified that West Africa is at risk of yet another outbreak. Ebola has already claimed many lives and
inflicted a great amount of devastation.
I cannot imagine what a measles outbreak could bring. West Africa’s health-care systems are already
fragile and nearly wiped out due to the Ebola outbreak. Not to mention, many West African children
are unvaccinated. The amount of young
lives taken from the measles virus could be catastrophic.
Brandon Smith
March 17, 2015
12:43 PM
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