Ebola and the Wild Meat Trade
Ebola is a zoonotic disease caused by contact with body fluids from humans or animals infected with the Ebola virus (Espinal, Aldighieri, John, Becerra-Posada, & Etienne, 2016). The lack of an Ebola virus vaccine, as well as the growing urge to consume bushmeat, aided the outbreak.
Spread and Transmission of the Virus
I discovered that the wild meat trade contributes to the prevalence and spread of Ebola virus illnesses. I also gained shocking knowledge that almost all body fluid from animals and human beings facilitate the spread of the virus. For instance, it can be spread by saliva or breast milk. This shows that it has many portals to reach the vulnerable people and those without out knowledge can spread it within a short duration infect a vast population. Since the virus was discovered in the 1970s, it is shocking to realize that the world has never shown any serious concern to prepare a vaccine to prevent it from re-emerging.
Importance of Information Sources
Critique: The information presented in these sources was clear and straightforward even compelling to discourage contact with wild animal for any reason.
The Source and Pathogen of the Outbreak
The exact source and pathogen causing the outbreak: A virus causing the Ebola disease comes from the family and genus Filoviridae and Ebola respectively (CDC, 2014).
Transmission and Prevention
CDC Transmission and prevention: The outbreak is transmitted from animals to human beings, and the prevention is to avoid contact with body fluids from both animals and human who have contacted the virus.
References
CDC. (2014). Ebola Spotlight. Retrieved 2017, from https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/page/ebola-spotlight
Espinal, M., Aldighieri, S., John, R. S., Becerra-Posada, F., & Etienne, C. (2016). International Health Regulations, Ebola, and emerging infectious diseases in Latin America and the Caribbean. Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública, 39(3), 174-178. Retrieved 2017, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4815620/
