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 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).
Response Strategy
The response strategies of Ebola virus disease is based on primary interventions and the implementation of the plan will be supported by the ministry of health among other partners with specific expertise. They include:
Risk communication and social mobilization
Proactively engaging the affected communities and those at risk should be timely, accurate and effective. This involves providing accurate health advice and encouraging positive health-seeking behaviors in communities who are at risk of Ebola epidemic (Gillespie, et al., 2016). It also involves addressing community concerns and rumors that may affect the prevention and control of the epidemic. Some of the strategies for the risk communication and community engagement which is understood to consider all cultures, traditions, linguistics economic background and religion in relation to the Ebola outbreak have to be considered as significant and closely be worked on by all health workers, religious leaders, traditional healers, teachers, and community leaders.
Such strategies include:
Public awareness and social mobilization
Every individual in the community has the rights to have enough knowledge of the risks they face due to the outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease. This is important as this will enable them to make appropriate and informed decisions to protect themselves, their family members and their community at large. In this case, social media, traditional media, and telephone hotline are significant as they can be used to regular updates as the incidences evolve. Besides, carrying out massive mass awareness campaigns and social mobilization activities are should be considered in order to maintain vigilance in areas which have not had Ebola Virus disease cases (Abramowitz, et al., 2015).
Mass awareness campaigns are also useful as they provide important information such as safe practices. The mass awareness also plays a critical role in providing knowledge of early signs and symptoms of Ebola virus disease and seeking early treatment.
Some of the key activities that will be involved in public awareness and social mobilization strategy include regular timely updates across all media platforms such as press releases, media briefings, social media and information on websites. Other key activities will involve the development of public health messages and written materials which can provide more information via traditional media channels and establishment of media and rumor monitoring concern mechanisms where community issues can be addressed in an effective manner.
Community engagement with high-risk communities
Local and traditional leaders should be supported in taking leadership in stopping the transmission of Ebola disease right from the beginning of the outbreak. Engagement with each person within the communities which are at high risk of Ebola outbreak via community forums, house to house visits, focus group discussions and interpersonal communication should be encouraged in order to address community health issues (Bell, 2016). Furthermore, these activities should be carried out in order t help in early recognition of symptoms of the Ebola virus, safe and dignified burial practices, and early treatment of the outbreak.
The strategy will involve key activities such as regular meetings with traditional leaders and healers, community leaders and key influential community groups including teachers, health workers and religious groups (Frieden & Damon, 2015). The youth groups and women’s groups will also be included to offer support for leadership on the Ebola virus disorder prevention activities at community level. Besides, development of joint plans and establishment monitoring approaches that can address the epidemic rumors that can result in wrong information will be applied in this strategy.
Social science operational research
One of the significant components that help in the provision of information on the Ebola virus outbreak response teams is a social science and operational research (Cenciarelli, et al., 2015). The strategy targets the social and cultural context of local communities regarding the outbreak of the disease which should be highly considered while drafting prevention and control strategies for the outbreak. The operational researchers who can help in rapid community assessments via the utilization of anthropological research approach should be set in order to help responders in better understanding crucial health issues regarding the outbreak of the Ebola Virus (Shuaib et al., 2015).
The key activities that will be involved in this strategy are conducting social science operation research, behavioral interviews, attitude survey practices and communications surveys regarding the beliefs and understanding of the outbreak of Ebola Virus (Nasidi, 2014). This will give each individual from the community to have a better chance of understanding the outbreak better. It will also provide a chance of identifying crucial underlying community practices that can contribute to undermining of outbreak prevention strategies and control.
Conclusion
Ebola virus disease is a very dangerous disease that is transmitted from wild animals to human being. Its outbreak is known to cause negative impact on the social, economic and political of the nation. Besides, it has impacts on the physical and mental health of individuals who are affected by the virus (Chan, 2014). Sustained community engagement and social mobilization can play the 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 (Nasidi, 2014). 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 require training in different aspects of the response to the outbreak of Ebola virus disease (World Health Organization, 2014). In conclusion, the community-based strategy of community engagement and social mobilization is effective in reducing and controlling the extent of Ebola virus transmission. Furthermore, successful practical experience to minimize the risk of the epidemic especially in communities with poor resources is crucial for the global community to fight against the disorder.
References
Abramowitz, S. A., McLean, K. E., McKune, S. L., Bardosh, K. L., Fallah, M., Monger, J., … & Omidian, P. A. (2015). Community-centered responses to Ebola in urban Liberia: the view from below. PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 9(4), e0003706.
Bell, B. P. (2016). Overview, control strategies, and lessons learned in the CDC response to the 2014–2016 Ebola epidemic. MMWR supplements, 65.
Chan, M. (2014). Ebola virus disease in West Africa—no early end to the outbreak. New England Journal of Medicine, 371(13), 1183-1185.
Cenciarelli, O., Pietropaoli, S., Malizia, A., Carestia, M., D’Amico, F., Sassolini, A., … & Palombi, L. (2015). Ebola virus disease 2013-2014 outbreak in west Africa: an analysis of the epidemic spread and response. International journal of microbiology, 2015.
Frieden, T. R., & Damon, I. K. (2015). Ebola in West Africa—CDC’s role in epidemic detection, control, and prevention. Emerging infectious diseases, 21(11), 1897.
Gillespie, A. M., Obregon, R., El Asawi, R., Richey, C., Manoncourt, E., Joshi, K., … & Quereshi, S. (2016). Social mobilization and community engagement central to the Ebola response in West Africa: Lessons for future public health emergencies. Global Health: Science and Practice, 4(4), 626-646.
Gostin, L. O., & Friedman, E. A. (2015). A retrospective and prospective analysis of the west African Ebola virus disease epidemic: robust national health systems at the foundation and an empowered WHO at the apex. The Lancet, 385(9980), 1902-1909.
Nasidi, A. (2014). Ebola virus disease outbreak-Nigeria, July-September 2014. MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report, 63(39), 867-872.
Shuaib, F., Gunnala, R., Musa, E. O., Mahoney, F. J., Oguntimehin, O., Nguku, P. M., … & Santibañez, S., Siegel, V., O’Sullivan, M., Lacson, R., & Jorstad, C. (2015). Health communications and community mobilization during an Ebola response: partnerships with community and faith-based organizations. Public Health Reports, 130(2), 128-133.
Tambo, E., Ugwu, E. C., & Ngogang, J. Y. (2014). Need of surveillance response systems to combat Ebola outbreaks and other emerging infectious diseases in African countries. Infectious diseases of poverty, 3(1), 29.
World Health Organization. (2014). WHO: Ebola response roadmap situation report 15 October 2014.
World Health Organization. (2014). Ebola and Marburg virus disease epidemics: preparedness, alert, control, and evaluation.
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