Ebola virus spreads faster, wider in Congo

The Ebola virus is a localised strain and there is no vaccine. About 2,500 have so far died since its outbreak in May. There are not enough funds to fight the deadly virus. The United Nations official appeals to the international community to step in and save people’s lives as he says that the organisation is running out of existing funds.

Unlike the coronavirus which became a global pandemic, Ebola is confined to particular regions, but it can spill over into the neighbouring countries. The fact that the virus is spreading in an African country has made pharmaceutical giants negligent in working for a vaccine and for producing vaccine in large volumes. The coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, had killed people in Europe and America, and there was panic even as scientists, corporates and governments pushed for the rollout of vaccines. Ebola remains a scourge confined to Congo, and it could spread to neighbouring countries if it is not contained in Congo.

The panic-stricken people are attacking health workers because they believe the rumours that the Ebola virus is a hoax, and there is no need for medication.

There have been 260 attacks on health workers in the last six months, even as 160 have fallen ill and 43 died. This makes the situation much worse even as health officials, national and international, work hard to provide care for those affected by the virus. Congo has been an unstable place for decades, rocked by political turmoil, economic uncertainty and social unrest. It is possible to produce an Ebola vaccine if enough funds are funnelled into research and the world’s topmost research and development divisions of pharmaceutical giants will come up with a preventive dose. The harsh marker fact is no big company would want to spend billions of dollars doing research on a virus that affectes people in a poor economic zone. If people are dying due to a virus as is happening now in the Democratic Republci of Congo, the world would not even turn its head to notice the social inferno.

The rich and developed world with its sophisticated scientific research laboratories and institutes would not want to save lives of people if they happen to live in a poor country in Africa, even though they can afford to do so. It is possible to work out remedies for most diseases affecting people all over the world but the decision-makers in countries with economic clout to do so.

In the advanced economies scientific research takes place on a wide range of topics, and it is possible to identify the many diseases that affect different geographies and find remedies. The medicines that would be needed will be of limited numbers because many of the viruses like Ebola are geography-bound.

This is considered philanthropy by many without realising that if a disease is controlled in a particular region, then the rest of the world is saved as well. Migrations are inevitable though many right-wing parties in Europe and the conservatives in the United States want to raise physical barricades against immigrants.

A better thing to do would be to respond to the social and medical challenges that people in different regions face, and find solutions. This would serve as a barrier for a disease from spreading to other places and other people. It is people from rich countries that are keen to travel to remote corners of the earth, and they would be safe if people in these remote areas are provided medical care. Universal health for all is an easy panacea instead of people from the poor countries risking their lives, including death, to reach the borders of rich countries. The social nightmare of immigration can be avoided if people in the poor countries can find social security within their own countries.