DOWNLOAD VIDEO
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is
working
to contain the Ebola virus in West Africa and prevent further deaths.
The current Ebola outbreak began in the African nation of Guinea and spread to the neighboring countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone, Senegal and Nigeria. Ebola is spread through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person. More than 3,800 people have died thus far.
Following the diagnosis of Ebola in a man who had traveled to the U.S. from Liberia, five major airports announced they will begin screening for fever in passengers coming from Ebola-affected countries.
CDC headquarters in Atlanta are the main hub for the U.S. response to the Ebola epidemic, focusing on education, prevention and research.
The CDC’s Global Migration Group educates transportation workers on symptoms, exposure and how to screen passengers. Another group is working on genetic sequencing to track the development of the virus over time.
The CDC is also training health care workers to protect themselves from the virus while treating patients, according to Dr. Michael Jhung, the influenza expert who wrote the curriculum for the course. But it is challenging to train workers quickly enough; the current course can handle 35-40 students per week, he said.
“The stakes are so high in Africa. If we don’t stop it in West Africa, the risk of it spreading to other parts of Africa is very great,” CDC Director Thomas Frieden said.
If Ebola continues to spread, he said, it could impact medical care in the U.S. along with travel and trade practices.
Warm up questions
- What is Ebola?
- How does the United States deal with outbreaks of disease?
- How could an outbreak of a deadly disease in another part of the world affect the United States?
Critical thinking questions
- The CDC is focusing on a few different approaches to containing Ebola, including education, prevention and research. Why are these three areas important and how can they impact the Ebola outbreak?
- What are the risks associated with being a health worker who is treating Ebola patients? How can they prevent catching the virus?
- How could the spread of Ebola affect global trade and travel?
