Ebola-Infected Countries Fear Slipping Into Recession In 2015; 'Patient Zero' May Have Been Infected By Bats
Due to the Ebola outbreak affecting most of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone in West Africa, government leaders and the World Bank predict that the countries will likely slide into recession in 2015. Ebola has since killed more than 7,500 people mainly from the three countries.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the number of people threatened by hunger in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone may reach one million in March if food supplies are not addressed. World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said when he visited West Africa in December that as long as the Ebola epidemic runs its course, the human and economic impact will grow more "devastating."
News of the development of Ebola vaccines has somewhat lessened the gloomy economic outlook of the Ebola-hit countries. Health experts around the world are preparing to test new treatments in West Africa that will eventually eradicate Ebola. It was previously reported that the National Institutes of Health and GlaxoSmithKline PLC are planning to conduct human trials among Liberian health workers. Similar plans are being discussed for Sierra Leone.
The World Health Organisation hopes that the ongoing research will produce an effective vaccine in 2015. However, no one can tell when the vaccine will be ready. If in case a vaccine is declared safe and successful, it will probably be tested first on at-risk health workers.
Ebola continues to spread in new communities in the region but the rate of infection has slowed down. Trying to eliminate ebola in far-flung villages where cases have been reported could be more difficult than preventing the infection that overwhelmed villages from July to October. Health experts said the number of Ebola deaths in 2015 will depend on the rapid response of healthworkers and governments.
Government leaders believe drawing back investors in their countries is crucial to help raise the economy and living standards. Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said all of the government projects have been put on hold.
Meanwhile, "Patient Zero" of the current Ebola outbreak may have been infected after playing by a hollow tree with a colony of bats inside. According to BBC News, scientists made the connection when they went to the two-year-old boy's village in Meliandou, Guinea. They took samples and interviewed locals to learn more about the source of the outbreak.
Villagers told the researchers that the children used to play inside the hollow tree where the bats also live. The toddler, who died of Ebola on December 2013, also played there. When the tree was burned in March, a "rain of bats" came flying out.
Contact email: r.su@ibtimes.com.au
