The End of Ebola? Lessons at the Epidemic's One Year Anniversary

HUFFINGTON POST Commentary by Robert Klitzman, M.D.   Columbia University                                            March 30, 2015

One year ago, the current Ebola epidemic was announced to the world. Since then, we have learned and accomplished an enormous amount....

But there are also critical lessons to be learned. Major gaps emerged in world responses to the disease, and profound questions remain. This was at least the 23rd outbreak of Ebola, since the first one was documented in 1976. More may occur. This outbreak was the largest recorded, for reasons that we still do not entirely understand. Moreover, as the world becomes ever-more interconnected, infectious diseases that pop up in one corner of the globe can increasingly travel within 24 hours to countries all over the globe. In recent years, we have thus seen the spread of SARS, Avian Flu, Swine Flu, HIV and other epidemics....

Going forward, we need to be better prepared for further outbreaks of this and other infectious agents. Education and communication about risks of infectious disease is vital. To develop new treatments and vaccines, we need to develop and establish private-public partnerships and more coordination, and provide more on-going support for basic research through the National Institutes of Health and the CDC. We must determine appropriate protocols for when and how much quarantine makes sense, based on the actual risks.
Read full article.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-klitzman-md/the-end-of-ebola-lessons-_b_6935990.html