Ebola Outbreak Hits Africa

HELLO, I'M JENNIFER CRAWFORD. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. THE AFRICAN NATION, THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO CONTINUES TO STRUGGLE DEALING WITH A DEADLY OUTBREAK OF EBOLA IN THE DRC. ALMOST HALF OF THOSE INFECTED ARE DYING FROM THE VIRUS. THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION HAS CALLED THE OUTBREAK A PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY OF INTERNATIONAL CONCERN. WELL, E BOLA IS RARE. THE DISEASE IS HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS AND THERE IS NO APPROVED VACCINE FOR THIS VARIANT, THE AFRICAN CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION. THEY SAY DELAYS AND CONTACT TRACING AND DIFFICULTIES IN ACCESSING AFFECTED. PEOPLE ARE HINDERING CONTAINMENT EFFORTS. AND NOW A NEW CONCERN RISES AS ABLE IS BEGINNING TO BE DIAGNOSED MORE FREQUENTLY IN POPULATED URBAN AREAS. FOR MORE ON THE CONTINUING EBOLA OUTBREAK IN AFRICA, WE ARE JOINED ONCE AGAIN BY DOCTOR TYLER EVANS. HE IS AN INFECTIOUS DISEASE SPECIALIST. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US. THANKS FOR HAVING ME. NOW, DOCTOR, THIS EBOLA OUTBREAK HAS BEEN DESCRIBED AS ONE OF THE BIGGEST IN HISTORY WITH MORE THAN 1500 DEATHS RIGHT NOW IN THE CENTRAL AFRICAN COUNTRY OF CONGO. WHY IS THIS SO DIFFICULT TO CONTAIN? SURE. SO SO FOR CONTEXT, THIS IS THE 3RD TIME THAT THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION HAS IDENTIFIED EBOLA. >> AS A PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY OF INTERNATIONAL CONCERN. SO WHY WHY IS THIS A DIFFERENT NUMBER ONE? WE WERE LATE TO THE GAME WHEN IT CAME TO THE DIAGNOSTIC TESTS BECAUSE THIS IS A DIFFERENT STRAIN. AS I MENTIONED, THAT THE MOST COMMON ONES ARE THE SUDAN AND THE DESIRE STRAIN. THIS IS GOING TO SO WE DID HAVE DIAGNOSTIC TESTS THAT WERE READILY AVAILABLE. YOU CAN HAVE THE MIC OR TEST THOSE OF THE DNA TESTS, WHICH WHICH YOU CAN SPECIFY THE STRAIN. BUT THOSE ARE VERY EXPENSIVE AND THOSE ARE NOT READILY AVAILABLE IN THE FIELD. REMEMBER DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC CONGRESS, VERY POOR COUNTRY AND 20 MOST CONFLICTED NATIONS IN THE WORLD AND WHICH IS THE SECOND REASON WHY THIS IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES. SO WE WERE LATE TO THE GAME WHEN IT CAME TO ACTUALLY PICKING IT UP. SO THAT POINT A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE ALREADY BEEN INFECTED AND WE DIDN'T KNOW. WE DON'T HAVE VACCINES. WE DON'T HAVE THEIR PICKS. THERAPEUTICS, MEANING TREATMENT. WE HAVE HAD HAD THEM IN THE PAST MEMBER THIS A DIFFERENT STRAIN. SO FOR THAT REASON, IT'S REALLY, REALLY HARD TO CONTAIN. TYPICALLY, WE DO SOMETHING CALLED A RING VACCINATIONS. SO BASICALLY WE LOOK AT IT LIKE THIS ARE THE HOT SPOTS OF OUTBREAKS. AND WE CREATE RINGS OF VACCINATIONS AROUND THOSE FOR THOSE FOLKS LIKE CONCENTRIC CIRCLES TO KIND OF PROTECT THEM. WE DON'T HAVE IT. YOU DON'T HAVE A RIGHT NOW. GOOD NEWS IS IT'S COMING. THERE'S A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT TRIALS THAT ARE OUT THERE THAT ARE THEY'RE LOOKING PROMISING VACCINES IN THE PAST HAVE BEEN VERY EFFECTIVE, BUT WE DON'T HAVE THEM RIGHT NOW. WE DON'T HAVE THE TREATMENT ROOM IN THE PAST HAS ALSO BEEN VERY EFFECTIVE. DON'T HAVE IT. AND THE FINAL PIECE IS BASICALLY THE THE GLOBAL HEALTH RESPONSE, WHICH IS REALLY ESSENTIAL TO CONTAIN THESE KINDS OF THINGS BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT IN THIS ALONE, RIGHT? WE'RE ALL CONNECTED. RAW GLOBAL CITIZENS. AND SO AND PARTICULARLY IN A PLACE THAT HAS LITTLE RESOURCES. AND WHEN WHEN WE TOOK OUT USAID AND IMPACTED CDC'S GLOBAL HEALTH RESPONSE AND THEN REMOVED OURSELVES FROM THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION THAT CREATED SOME SERIOUS BLOWS TO TO BASICALLY 2 DEER SEASON ABILITY TO TO RESPOND TO THIS. THE ONLY WAY THAT THAT MANY OF THESE AFRICAN NATIONS ARE ABLE TO REALLY SORT OF RESPOND IS THROUGH THEIR AFRICAN CDC AND WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION AND THE EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN PARTNERS. SO IF YOU TAKE OUT THE AMERICAN PEACE, IT REALLY IMPACTS THEM SIGNIFICANTLY. I WONDER, DO YOU EXPECTED TO GET MUCH WORSE BEFORE IT GETS BETTER? >> IT WILL. YOU KNOW, THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT AGAIN, UGANDA, IT HAS BEEN IT HAS BEEN CONTROLLED. I WAS REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT THAT ONE THING I FAILED TO MENTION IS THE FACT THAT IT'S IN THAT IT HAS SPREAD INTO INTO A LARGE CENTERS. URBAN CENTERS MOST OF MOST PRIOR EBOLA OUTBREAKS BURNOUT IN RURAL AREAS. WHEN I SAY BURNOUT BECAUSE THE CASE FATALITY RATE IS SO HIGH AND BECAUSE SO MANY PEOPLE BECOME SYMPTOMATIC, WHICH IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM, LIKE, LET'S SAY, COVID-19 WEAR MANY PEOPLE COULD BE ASYMPTOMATIC OR VERY MINIMAL SYMPTOMS. NOW WITH THE BALL, YOU BECOME VERY SICK VERY QUICKLY. AND SO PEOPLE ARE GOING ACTUALLY GOING TO, YOU KNOW, STAY AWAY. SO SOME PEOPLE PRETTY MUCH KNOW VERY, VERY SOON THAT THAT THEY THAT THEY ARE INFECTED FOR THE MOST PART. AND SO SO AGAIN, IT BURNS OUT IN THOSE KIND OF RURAL AREAS, MEMBER BATS WERE RESERVOIRS TO STORE, TYPICALLY NOT AN URBAN CENTERS. WHEN IT DOES GET INTO AN URBAN CENTER. THAT'S A MAJOR PROBLEM. THE GOOD NEWS IS IT WAS IN KAMPALA. I WAS REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT THAT. COMPILES A VERY, VERY CONCENTRATED CITY. BUT AGAIN, THAT'S THAT'S NOW CONTROLLED. BUT IT IS IN KINSHASA AND IS IN GOMA IN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC. CONGO. THOSE ARE 2, 2 CITIES IN CONGO, VERY CONCENTRATED CITIES. AND SO AGAIN, WHEN YOU GET INTO THOSE CONCENTRATED CITIES, YOU JUST REALLY CREATE THIS. THIS. THIS, YOU KNOW, TO POPULATION DENSITIES, SORT OF RISK. AND SO THAT THAT IS A MAJOR CONCERN. YEAH, I DON'T EXPECT THIS TO TO TO TO GET WORSE AGAINST CONTROLLED UGANDA. WE HAVEN'T WE HAVEN'T REALLY SEEN MANY CASES OUTSIDE OF THE IT GETTING INTO KENYA, WHICH ANOTHER MAJOR, MAJOR NATION, WHICH HAS A LOT OF AIRPORTS THAT CONNECT TO THE TO THE REST OF THE WORLD. AND WE SAW ONE CASE, ONE AMERICAN HEALTH WORKER. NOW THAT PERSON'S FINE AND AND THAT THERE WAS ONE CASE THAT THAT GOT TO FRANCE. BUT THAT'S NOW BEEN CONTROLLED. DO YOU HAVE ANY CONCERNS AT ALL ABOUT EBOLA ENTERING THE UNITED STATES? >> NOW IT'S NOW THE IN UGANDA. IT'S BEEN CONTROLLED. I'M LESS CONCERNS. A SATELLITE TO QUANTIFY EVERYTHING IN LIFE. MIGHT MY WIFE DOESN'T LIKE THAT. WANT TO DO THAT WHEN IT COMES TO OUR MARRIAGE, TOO. BUT FROM 0 TO 10, I WOULD SAY AS 10 BEING THE MOST CONCERNS IN DEER. SEE, I'M AT A LEVEL 7 AND IN TERMS OF SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA, MY LEVEL OF CONCERN OF IT SORT OF SPREADING HAD PROBABLY BE AT A LEVEL 4 OR 5 IN TERMS OF THE GETTING INTO INTO THE U.S. OR ANY OTHER MAJOR WESTERN NATION ARE GOING TO LEVEL ONE OR 2. >> CONGO CIVILIANS DID TRAVEL TO NORTH AMERICA FOR THE WORLD CUP. THERE WERE NO CASES OF EBOLA REPORTED SINCE THEN. IS THAT A POSITIVE SIGN? >> IT WAS A POSITIVE SIGN. THERE WERE NO CASES AMONG THE PLAYERS AMONG THE AND AND OR TO OUR KNOWLEDGE, ANYBODY THAT THE ATHLETES CONNECTED WITH THEY WERE WERE DEFINITELY, YOU KNOW, KEEPING CLOSE EYES ON THEM. SO YES, IT'S A POSITIVE SIGN IS POSITIVE SIGN THAT THERE WERE ACTUALLY JUST MORE MACRO THAT THERE WERE NO, IN FACT, THESE OUTBREAKS OF TO OUR KNOWLEDGE AT THE WORLD CUP. I ATTENDED 4 GAMES MYSELF. EVERYTHING IN LIFE IS RISK-REWARD RATIO. I WROTE AN OP-ED ABOUT THE POTENTIAL RISK, BUT WE DIDN'T SEE THAT WHICH WAS WHICH WAS GREAT. AND AND THERE IS THERE ARE OTHER A PRIEST TAKING PLACE. AND, YOU KNOW, PERHAPS WE CAN TALK ABOUT THOSE ANOTHER DAY. BUT IN TERMS OF EBOLA RIGHT NOW, WE ARE IN A GOOD PLACE IN THE U.S. >> ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION. DR EVANS. >> THANKS AGAIN FOR HAVING ME.