Dr. Jim Wilson gave a riveting presentation on the Ebola crisis. The Ebola epidemic raging across West Africa is three times larger than any outbreak previously recorded for this devastating disease, leading global health experts to declare the outbreak to be a “global health emergency”. At least 2,615 have contracted Ebola, killing more than 1,427 in West Africa alone. This is the first time this has occurred in urban areas and to have crossed national boundaries. Ebola has been controlled in the past, but this outbreak is the most serious, potentially impacting 11 countries in the region.
Experts fear further international spread in view of the virulence of the virus, partially due to weak health systems in the currently affected regions, compounded by fear and misinformation in West Africa. The Ebola virus causes hemorrhagic fever that affects multiple organs in the body.
Dr. Wilson is now on the faculty of the University of Nevada, Reno and also heads up the Ascel Bio National Infectious Disease Forecast Center, which is actively tracking the Ebola disaster in West Africa. It is the worst infectious disease-triggered disaster due to the geographic scale. The center assess that both local and international capacities are strained to the limits with signs of imminent collapse. Neither the event signature patterns nor epidemic curves show any sign of improvement in Sierra Leone and Liberia. Both of these countries have exhibited worse response profiles than Guinea, which profited from the immediate presence of Doctors Without Borders. In this presentation Wilson reviews the basics of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), the associated event signature patterns, and how the United States is or is not connected to the disaster region via the international air traffic grid.
Dr. Wilson is one of the world’s leading experts on infectious diseases. He led the Haiti Epidemic Advisory System following the 2010 earthquake and has been deeply involved in bio-terror prevention. He was instrumental in providing warning of the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, and has held positions with NASA, NOAA, and Homeland Security relating to bio-terrorism.
We are sure you will profit from a close look at the very extensive information on the Ebola crisis provided in his attached PowerPoint.