#dnaEdit: Managing pandemic

Perhaps, it has always been so. What happens in one part of the world affects the rest. In the past, it took a long time for diseases to spread across countries. But greater connectivity and people travelling out and travelling to disease zones creates fresh hazards for all. The number of Ebola virus cases is alarmingly high in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Of more than 8,000 cases till now, more than 4,000 people have died. And then there are cases of United Nations health workers, some of who have been infected with the virus, returning to the United States and European countries, which triggered the panic of the disease spreading to newer areas. World Health Organization (WHO) officials have been raising the alarm over the last few weeks. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon stressed the need for concerted response to the issue. There is much panic and confusion in all this; what is needed is clarity about the real contours of the problem. 

Ebola is not an evil genie that has suddenly jumped out of the bottle. It has been known to medical experts for more than 40 years and research was undertaken to find a vaccine for the virus. It did not make headway because policymakers and decision-makers did not pay much attention to it as it was not the burning problem on hand. Now that it has become one, and is spreading like wildfire, there is a flurry of activity. The basic problem to be addressed is how to reach medical help to the three African countries which are indeed the epicentre of the disease. The incidence and the mortality figures in these countries have assumed epidemic proportions. It seems international response is focused on finding a vaccine before it spreads to other parts of the world. There is much less concern in rushing medical help to the victim countries. It is certainly necessary to revive research in the hunt for the vaccine to counter the virus, and it cannot wait. But the more important issue is for the rest of the world to stand by Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, and to extend the maximum assistance that can be given to them to help the actual victims.

Guinea president Alpha Conde told Bloomberg Africa TV, “We wish the panic would stop.” He is right. International airlines like the Emirates and British Airways have stopped flights to these countries. It can be argued that quarantining the West African countries where the virus is rampant is a necessary measure. But it is equally necessary to send in help. Guinea has two Ebola-treatment centres. There is need for 16. The powers- that-be in Europe, in the US and at the UN must devise ways of rushing medical aid. This may not be the right time to speak in melodramatic terms of the world facing an Ebola crisis. 

It is also quite clear that African countries are going through constant political and economic crises, and such an unfriendly atmosphere is not conducive to take care of the health needs of a society. The situation reinforces the point that rapid economic development will always be perilous if the social needs of the people like health, clean housing and better sewerage systems along with educational institutions are not created. It will, however, be said that faster economic growth will lead to improvement in quality of life. It is a Catch-22 situation.