There have been amazing world-breaking scientific advances. However, the dark cloud on the horizon is the emerging Ebola epidemic in West Africa and the warning undercurrent that comes with it. At the time of writing at least 7,000 people have been infected and half of those have died. It is estimated that the numbers can be doubled or even tripled. Also, because the rates of infection appear to be growing exponentially, tens of thousands, or even millions, might ultimately be affected. To put the scale of the present situation into perspective, since the first recorded case of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo 38 years ago, there have been fewer than 2,500 deaths documented in total. Thus, this single present outbreak is already three times larger than the entire Ebola death toll ever. It is also no longer just an African problem. The West has had its own wake-up call this week as the US and Spain, countries previously regarded as immune to the threat thanks to modern medicine, have reported imported cases of the condition and, despite strict infection-control guidelines and practices, onward transmissions of Ebola on their home soil. What is remarkable though is that, while Ebola is terrifying and dramatic in its impact when it causes an outbreak, it appears to be a relatively easy agent to fight. Experimental vaccines tested so far on animals have been impressively effective. The vaccines protect against even injection of the living Ebola virus. However, because they are at a test stage, these agents, which will be critical if we are to nip outbreak in the bus, are nowhere near ready for mass production. Trials are only now getting underway of human versions of the vaccines in the UK, and the US. “Way too late,” many are saying, to prevent the inevitable. Hence, why is it that, nearly 440 years after Ebola first surfaced, the world finds itself in a state of panic. Now, up to ten thousand people are dead, owing to a bug that is probably preventable thanks to scientific research done decades ago. The answer is that Ebola was regarded as someone else’s problem. It was a tropical disease of low importance and (presumed to be) constrained by geography and climate to a part of the world that held little economic interest to the rest of us. Still, therein lies a salutary lesson because, if even a tiny fraction had been spent 20 years ago to develop an Ebola vaccine, we probably would not be in this position now. The present outbreak is now costing the world in terms of lost productivity, humanitarian aid and human lives lost. It is easy to dismiss tropical diseases as an issue that will not affect the West. However, the present situation is a warning shot across our bows that we ignored at our peril. The assumption the author has about the West is ...

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There have been amazing world-breaking scientific advances. However, the dark cloud on the horizon is the emerging Ebola epidemic in West Africa and the warning undercurrent that comes with it. At the time of writing at least 7,000 people have been infected and half of those have died. It is estimated that the numbers can be doubled or even tripled. Also, because the rates of infection appear to be growing exponentially, tens of thousands, or even millions, might ultimately be affected.

To put the scale of the present situation into perspective, since the first recorded case of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo 38 years ago, there have been fewer than 2,500 deaths documented in total. Thus, this single present outbreak is already three times larger than the entire Ebola death toll ever. It is also no longer just an African problem. The West has had its own wake-up call this week as the US and Spain, countries previously regarded as immune to the threat thanks to modern medicine, have reported imported cases of the condition and, despite strict infection-control guidelines and practices, onward transmissions of Ebola on their home soil.

What is remarkable though is that, while Ebola is terrifying and dramatic in its impact when it causes an outbreak, it appears to be a relatively easy agent to fight. Experimental vaccines tested so far on animals have been impressively effective. The vaccines protect against even injection of the living Ebola virus. However, because they are at a test stage, these agents, which will be critical if we are to nip outbreak in the bus, are nowhere near ready for mass production. Trials are only now getting underway of human versions of the vaccines in the UK, and the US. “Way too late,” many are saying, to prevent the inevitable.

Hence, why is it that, nearly 440 years after Ebola first surfaced, the world finds itself in a state of panic. Now, up to ten thousand people are dead, owing to a bug that is probably preventable thanks to scientific research done decades ago. The answer is that Ebola was regarded as someone else’s problem. It was a tropical disease of low importance and (presumed to be) constrained by geography and climate to a part of the world that held little economic interest to the rest of us. Still, therein lies a salutary lesson because, if even a tiny fraction had been spent 20 years ago to develop an Ebola vaccine, we probably would not be in this position now. The present outbreak is now costing the world in terms of lost productivity, humanitarian aid and human lives lost. It is easy to dismiss tropical diseases as an issue that will not affect the West. However, the present situation is a warning shot across our bows that we ignored at our peril.

The assumption the author has about the West is ...

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