'Urgent global response' needed amid fears of hidden Ebola spread
Updated . First published
Experts are calling for a worldwide response to the Ebola disease outbreak in Africa that has claimed dozens of lives, but have warned against panic.
At least 88 people, including several health workers, are dead, and hundreds have been diagnosed with a rare strain of the disease-causing virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in Uganda.
There are fears the disease could spread further, with containment strategies now in place.
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Ebola disease is native to sub-Saharan Africa. WHO
Nursing lecturer Dr Matt Mason said an "urgent, coordinated, global response" was required.
"The healthcare worker deaths raise serious concerns about gaps in infection prevention and control (IPC) and the potential for amplification within health facilities, leading to the wider community," he said.
"Strengthening IPC is critical, but cannot be achieved through top-down directives alone.
"Local health workers, traditional healers, and community caregivers carry deep contextual knowledge of how illness presents, spreads, and is understood within their communities."
Adelaide University chair of biostatistics Professor Adrian Esterman said the fact the two fatal cases in Uganda were unconnected was worrying.
"That is often a warning sign that the outbreak in the DRC is larger than health authorities can currently see," he said.
Here's what you need to know about the disease and how it's spread.
What is Ebola?
Ebola disease is caused by a group of viruses.
Three of them are known to cause large outbreaks: Ebola virus, Sudan virus and Bundibugyo virus, the WHO says.
The current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, which is rare and has been responsible for only two previously reported outbreaks.
Ebola was first identified in 1976, and is named, along with one of the viruses that cause it, after the Ebola River in what is now the DRC. The viruses that cause it are native to sub-Saharan Africa.
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The disease, caused by several viruses, has a high mortality rate. (Frederick Murphy/CDC via AP, File
How is Ebola disease spread?
A family of fruit bats is believed to be the natural hosts of the viruses that cause Ebola, and other animals like apes and monkeys can also be infected, according to the WHO.
People can be infected by these animals, and the viruses can spread from person to person through contact with the body fluids like blood, faeces, semen, or vomit of an infected person, or surfaces that have been contaminated by body fluids.
The Bundibugyo virus, which health authorities say is responsible for the outbreak, is rare and different from the Ebola Zaire strain that has been dominant in all of Congo's past 17 outbreaks except one.
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Fruit bats are among the main spreaders of the disease. Getty
The virus was first detected in Uganda's Bundibugyo district during a 2007-2008 outbreak that killed 37 people out of 149 cases.
The second time was in 2012 in an outbreak in Isiro, Congo, where 57 cases and 29 deaths were reported.
How deadly is Ebola?
Symptoms appear from two days to three weeks after exposure, though they usually emerge within about a week, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
Illnesses begin with flu-like symptoms, including fever, aches, fatigue, and a sore throat.
Later, patients can experience gastrointestinal problems, rashes, seizures and bleeding.
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Breakouts have been known to kill thousands. AP
The average fatality rate for Ebola disease varies on which virus causes it.
The Ebola virus strain has a fatality rate of up to 90 per cent, compared to 50 per cent for the Sudan virus strain and about 30 per cent for the Bundibugyo virus strain, according to the US Centres for Disease Control.
The 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola crisis resulted in over 11,000 deaths from more than 28,000 cases.
Are there vaccines or treatments available?
Currently, the only approved vaccine or treatment applies to the strain of the disease caused by the Ebola virus.
Ebola disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus, as in this outbreak, has no vaccine.
Authorities focus on containment, mass testing, and quarantining to try to stop the spread.
Only the Ebola virus variant of the disease has a vaccine. Ulrich Perrey/Pool/AFP/Getty Images
Is Ebola in Australia?
There has never been an officially diagnosed case of Ebola disease in Australia.
The government, however, considers it such a drastic potential health threat that it is able to invoke special health and safety powers should such a diagnosis be made.
This even applies to people seeking to enter the country.
Moran said Australia's risk remained "low" but urged travellers to be careful.
Should we panic?
The World Health Organisation has declared the Ebola disease outbreak a public health emergency of international concern
WHO said the outbreak doesn't meet the criteria of a pandemic emergency like COVID-19, and advised against the closure of international borders.
With Associated Press.
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