Analytical Essay on Ebola Virus: Ecological and Social Factors

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Introduction

The Ebola virus has been identified nearly 40 years during the two outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan.[footnoteRef:1] Regardless of the considerable effort to investigate, it is still arguably as obscure today to find the ecology of the filoviruses, especially, of Ebola viruses. This article is presenting some ecological factors including the behaviors and hunting habits of human and primates; the natural condition in the rainfall forest; and the transmission through chimpanzees and bats. Additionally, some social factors as the local practices, the misinterpretation of WHO, or the ignorance of some world leaders also contribute to the spread of Ebola. [1: Joseph McCormick, Ebola Virus Ecology, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004), 1893.]

Ecological Factors

Many studies suspect that the filoviruses circulate in the central Africa rain forest and have the ability to infect humans and non-human primates due to their custom behaviors and hunting habits.[footnoteRef:2] Nevertheless, the geography distribution of filoviruses is still vague. We formerly only knew that these viruses emerge in tropical rain forest near the equator and primarily infect lethal disease to humans and monkeys.[footnoteRef:3] It has been recognized at least 4 genetic subtypes of Ebola virus.[footnoteRef:4] The outbreak of Ebola occurring in recent years was closely linked to the same virus strain that circulates in forest area in Africa. However, the occurrence of an Ebola virus subtype in the Philippines significantly inferred that Ebola group viruses can possibly carried by migratory hosts in their evolution.[footnoteRef:5] It is also noticed that antibodies are more widespread in hunter-gatherers than farmers in the Central African Republic. The prevalence of Ebola antibodies and exposure can be acquired by hunting, transferring, and preparing bush meat.[footnoteRef:6] Plus, some changes of humans’ behavior, demography and population might lead to the consumption of a larger array of animals. These changes in hunting proceeding result in the exposure of humans to virus subtypes and enzootic Ebola viruses.[footnoteRef:7] [2: McCormick, Ebola Virus, 1893.] [3: Ibid., 1893.] [4: The subtypes of Ebola virus includes Zaire (EBO-Z), Cote d’Ivoire (EBO-CI), Sudan (EBO-S), and EBO-R (from imported monkeys from the Philippines to the United States and Europe), see in Thomas Monath, Ecology of Marburg and Ebola Viruses: Speculations and Directions for Future Research, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999), S133.] [5: Monath, Ecology of, S134.] [6: Ibid., S134.] [7: The nonselective wire snare traps contributes to the capture of nocturnal animals, including smaller species and bats.]

Thereupon the core transmission cycle of Ebola subtypes, including cyclic population changes or rainfall, intensifies virus transmission. The Ebola viruses have emerged during the rainy and short dry season in Africa. The high rainfall and environmental changes can be linked to Ebola virus transmission to hosts that have reproductive cycles or have altered behaviors. For instance, during the rainy season, non-human primates are more active due to the abundant of fruits; squirrels, insectivorous and frugivorous bats have bimodal reproductive cycles; the reproduction and activity of various arthhropods are also vigorously influenced.[footnoteRef:8] [8: Monath, Ecology of, S136.]

One of the most direct clues to the origination of Ebola viruses in nature is that humans get infection from chimpanzees butchered for meat. The transmission of viruses may be during contact behaviors and social grooming. Chimpanzees are believed to get infected by physically contacting or consuming infected prey.[footnoteRef:9] Due to their omnivorous habits and vertical distribution, chimpanzees prey upon various birds, insects, and mammals that they are responsible for a wide range of exposures. In addition, other interactions of chimpanzees with other species should also be considered. Those interactions can be from handling or sniffing dead rodents; competing and contacting with frugivorous birds; or entangling with nocturnal arthropods and mammals including bats, arboreal mice, anomalure squirrels, and mongooses.[footnoteRef:10] Thus, predation of chimpanzees and other game animals results in the acquisition of human infection of Ebola. [9: Ibid., S135. ] [10: Ibid.]

Additionally, there are evidences implicating that the transcontinental geography and association between infection and roosting sites of bats in caves distribute Ebola virus subtypes (EBO-S virus; cotton factory, Nzara, Sudan).[footnoteRef:11] A number of species assembling in communal roosts, sought by humans for food, or flying in low strata of the forest or near human habitations can be the transmission of enzootic Ebola viruses. On the contrary, virulent strains of Ebola viruses apparently more involve transmission between species at low density with nocturnal flying species in the higher strata of the forest and with solitary roosting habitats.[footnoteRef:12] The emergence of virulent Ebola strains arises by stepwise or gradual mutation from an “enzootic” virus. [11: Ibid.] [12: Ibid.]

Social Factors

The transmission of Ebola can be through direct contact with the body fluids or corpse of an infected person, specifically during traditional funeral ceremonies. Kissidougou (a prefecture in southeastern Guinea) was first reported of Ebola in March 2014, and the largest record of increasing since the beginning of the epidemic during mid-December.[footnoteRef:13] As a result, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) are requested to investigate the local outbreak. The result found out that 85 confirmed Ebola cases were related to a traditional funeral ceremony.[footnoteRef:14] In Guinea and other west African countries, traditional burial practices involve washing, touching, and kissing the body of the dead person.[footnoteRef:15] Hence, it is inevitable that attendees have direct contact with the body and body fluids of the deceased. Of the 85 confirmed Ebola cases, 21% confirmed to attend and contact directly with the corpse in the funeral, meanwhile 79% verified to have direct contact with attendee of the funeral.[footnoteRef:16] Although the community leaders tried to enhance public health interventions and control Ebola transmission in Kissidougou and other remote communities in Guinea, the transportations in rural areas remained a major problem. While the patients were transferred to the nearest Ebola treatment center (ETC) in Kissidougou, the delayed time from isolation, diagnosis, and treatment at an ETC, could create potential exposure to additional persons.[footnoteRef:17] [13: Kerton Victory et al., Ebola Transmission Linked to a Single Traditional Funeral Ceremony — Kissidougou, Guinea, December, 2014–January 201, (Atlanta: Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, 2015), 386.] [14: Victory et al., Ebola Transmission, 386.] [15: Ibid., 387.] [16: Victory et al., Ebola Transmission, 387.] [17: Ibid., 387.]

Despite the seriousness of the situation, the ignorance and loss of vigilance due to the misinterpretation of WHO causes the spread of Ebola epidemic wider. The epidemic was first occurred in 1976, with an outbreak in Yambuku, Zair, and surrounding areas. In 1995, Ebola again broke out in Kikwit.[footnoteRef:18] Yet another 19 years on, little had improved that the world had not developed medical tools or new technical to for addressing the Ebola viruses. For two decades, same old story as the AIDS pandemic and other lethal outbreaks, the general population and governments always proved more fonded of attacking the subpopulation at greatest risk for the disease rather than tackling the virus itself.[footnoteRef:19] Poor countries are incapable to detect new diseases and control them quickly while rich countries merely show interest until the outbreaks directly threaten their population. The governments cover up outbreaks as they only care about their interests, stockpile scarce pharmaceutical supplies, or shut down borders and bar travel.[footnoteRef:20] Looking back on the charts of Ebola cases in spring 2014 that a mid-March upstick followed by a drop in early April, both the WHO and CDC misinterpreted it as the beginning of the end of the epidemic.[footnoteRef:21] However, the Ebola virus was just lurking from the eyes of health authorities. Nevertheless, it is also suspected that the WHO’s early response to the Ebola outbreak was hampered by bureaucratic dysfunction.[footnoteRef:22] However, it is also interesting to investigate the tendency of CDC and WHO that their wise policymaking is headed by their optics of public perceptions and political correctness. The Associated Press showed that WHO’s delay of declaring the emergency over Ebola is due to their concern that the declaration of this emergency corresponding to a global SOS which could hurt other African countries involved.[footnoteRef:23] [18: Laurie Garrett, Ebola’s Lessons: How the WHO Mishandled the Crisis, (New York: Council on Foreign Relations, 2015), 81.] [19: During the 1980s, the importance of HIV and AIDS was failed to be recognized by WHO that their insiders even complained about the amount of money in AIDS funds Mann was raising. The critic was ‘Since more people die of diarrhea—or cancer, or hypertension, or malaria, or whatever—than of aids, why is it getting so much money and media attention?”The same story goes on with H5N1 to H1N1 to H7N9, SARS to MERS, or Ebola, see in Garrett, Ebola’s Lessons, 85.] [20: Ibid., 85.] [21: On May 2015, WHO officially declared that Liberia was free of Ebola, and the nation started focusing on recover the economy. However, in late June, Ebola came back to Liberia, and many other cases have come to light, see in Garrett, Ebola’s Lessons, 86-92.] [22: The impulse of foundations, donor countries, or individuals also impact the WHO’s agenda as they can choose the priorities within WHO’s mandates, see in Ari Schulman, The Ebola Gamble: How Public Health Authorities Put Reassurance Before Protection, (Center for the Study of Technology and Society, 2015), 31.] [23: This could affect their economies or intervene the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, see in Schulman, The Ebola Gamble, 31.]

In addition to the outbreak of Ebola, world leaders also contribute to the worldwide threat of Ebola due to their ignorance and fear of intervention. Despite the call of Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) for states with biological disaster response capacity (civilian and military medical) to west Africa, the response was too late and limited. [footnoteRef:24] Furthermore, some government, specifically, the UK government decided to stop direct flights to west Africa.[footnoteRef:25] This political decision of the UK hampered the response to the Ebola outbreak. The decision was not based on science and consistent with WHO advice. In contrast, it led to the increase in the costs of dealing with the epidemic, and potentially further death.[footnoteRef:26] The entire health systems in the affected African countries had collapsed.[footnoteRef:27] The patients were left without care for even the common illness including malaria and diarrhea. Joanne Liu, the international charity’s president, also emphasized that the Ebola outbreak was a transnational crisis that had economic, social, and security implication for the African continent, and all countries had responsibility to act towards it.[footnoteRef:28] Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank, and Paul Farmer[footnoteRef:29], stated that if the Ebola virus had instead broke out in New York, Washington or Boston, the disease could have been contained and eliminated with the good health systems.[footnoteRef:30] The health system would be equipped effective equipment, proper protective clothing and supportive care from doctors and nurses. [24: Ingrid Torjesen, World Leaders Are Ignoring Worldwide Threat of Ebola, Says MSF, (BMJ, 2014), 1.] [25: Anne Gulland, UK Government Is Criticised for “political Decisions” in Response to Ebola Epidemic, (BMJ, 2015), 1.] [26: Gulland, UK Government Is Criticised, 1.] [27: Isolation centers were overwhelmed and health worker became infected or died in vast number.] [28: Torjesen, World Leaders Are Ignoring, 1.] [29: He holds the Kolokotrones university professorship of global health and social medicine at Harvard University. He is also the co-founder of the non-profit organization Partners in Health.] [30: Torjesen, World Leaders Are Ignoring, 2.]

Conclusion

The Ebola outbreak has reminded us that we are still fragile creatures in the nature and in our own human community. The epidemic of Ebola has killed a vast number of people and may continue further if we are still unable to resolve our human problems and political issues involved. Although some measures adopted by states combating the virus might be justified, every individual right and life are not worth to be sacrificed for the common good of the authorities.

References

Garrett, Laurie. ‘Ebola’s Lessons: How the WHO Mishandled the Crisis.’ Foreign Affairs 94, no. 5 (2015): 80-107. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24483741.
Gulland, Anne. ‘UK Government Is Criticised for “political Decisions” in Response to Ebola Epidemic.’ BMJ: British Medical Journal 350 (2015). https://www.jstor.org/stable/26518318.
McCormick, Joseph B. ‘Ebola Virus Ecology.’ The Journal of Infectious Diseases 190, no. 11 (2004): 1893-894. http://www.jstor.org/stable/30077722.
Monath, Thomas P. ‘Ecology of Marburg and Ebola Viruses: Speculations and Directions for Future Research.’ The Journal of Infectious Diseases 179 (1999): S127-138. http://www.jstor.org/stable/30117614.
Schulman, Ari N. ‘The Ebola Gamble: How Public Health Authorities Put Reassurance Before Protection.’ The New Atlantis, no. 45 (2015): 3-42. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43551433.
Torjesen, Ingrid. ‘World Leaders Are Ignoring Worldwide Threat of Ebola, Says MSF.’ BMJ: British Medical Journal 349 (2014). https://www.jstor.org/stable/26517025.
Victory, Kerton R., Fátima Coronado, Sâa O. Ifono, Therese Soropogui, and Benjamin A. Dahl. ‘Ebola Transmission Linked to a Single Traditional Funeral Ceremony — Kissidougou, Guinea, December, 2014–January 2015.’ Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 64, no. 14 (2015): 386-88. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24856447.

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Analytical Essay on Ebola Virus: Ecological and Social Factors

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