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Ebola Outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo: Lessons Learned, or Ignored?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 June 2020

Charles Beadling Open the ORCID record for Charles Beadling [Opens in a new window] ,
David Brett-Major ,
Melinda Hamer ,
Kelly Vest ,
Timothy Muyimbo  and
Frederick Burkle Open the ORCID record for Frederick Burkle [Opens in a new window]
Charles Beadling*
Affiliation:
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland
David Brett-Major
Affiliation:
Navigating Health Risks, LLC
Melinda Hamer
Affiliation:
Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, Maryland
Kelly Vest
Affiliation:
HACCP Consulting Group, LLC, Alexandria, Virginia
Timothy Muyimbo
Affiliation:
Uganda People’s Defence Force, Bombo, Uganda
Frederick Burkle
Affiliation:
Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Cambridge, Massachusetts
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Charles Beadling, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD (e-mail: cbeadling2018@gmail.com)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Infectious diseases became an increasing public health threat as humans transitioned from nomadic hunter-gatherer societies to stable, agrarian communities. It is accurate to say the international community was not optimally prepared for the 2014-2015 Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in West Africa, which eventually spread and caused secondary cases in the United States. From that experience, much was learned about the management of an EVD outbreak, from prevention and treatment, to the need for a “whole of society” response. However, it is clear from the evidence that much still needs to be done to improve preparedness for Ebola and other emerging infectious diseases in the region. The current outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo both mirrors these challenges and demonstrates new ones reflected in violence, hampering efforts to prevent spread of EVD within and beyond the country. The journal Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness (DMPHP) is taking a forward-looking approach, establishing a task force of editors to quickly review and approve manuscripts relating to EVD for immediate electronic publication and open access. The intent is to make emerging information available to front-line responders and policy decision-makers as quickly as possible.

Keywords

cultural normsEbola virus diseasemultidisciplinary
Type
Commentary
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 15 , Issue 6 , December 2021 , pp. 682 - 684
Copyright
Copyright © 2020 Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.

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References

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