WHO on How to Handle Ebola

N E W   Y O R K, Oct. 23 -- When Belgium’s Dr. Peter Piot first analyzed Ebola microbes under an electron microscope during the 1976 Sudanese outbreak that brought the virus to the world’s attention, he found they looked like question marks. Nearly a quarter century later, the deadly virus still eludes scientists.

While scientists still don’t know where Ebola originates, experts dealing with the current epidemic in Uganda are better prepared for an outbreak now than they were in 1976. According to World Health Organization virologist Dr. Ray Arthur, Ebola control measures are “pretty straightforward.”

On Oct. 14, experts confirmed that a virus killing people around Gulu in northern Uganda was Ebola hemorrhagic fever, one of the most dangerous viral diseases known to humans. “Ugandan health officials were quick to respond,” says WHO spokesman Valeri Abermov, explaining that they immediately called the WHO and other organizations.

When a Country Calls for Help

When the call for help comes from a country experiencing an outbreak, Arthur explains, a task force is set up consisting of representatives from principal organizations in the outbreak country, such as the Ministry of Health , as well as from groups around the world, including the United Nations, WHO and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. The task force assigns various duties to the groups, such as charging the military with the transportation of scientists and equipment in and out of the often hard-to-reach outbreak regions.

“We’re invited to assist with on-site aid and technical assistance,” explains Bernadette Burden, a spokeswoman for the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Ga. Six CDC infectious disease specialists from the organization’s “Special Pathogens” branch are currently in Uganda helping to treat patients.

According to Arthur, any health worker with experience treating and containing infectious diseases can treat an Ebola outbreak. “The first step is to establish an isolation ward and implement barrier nursing techniques,” he says. Armed with “lots of chlorine,” rubber boots and gloves, masks and gowns, health officials treat infected patients and keep away visitors who, in Uganda, for example, normally provide meals for hospital patients.