An outbreak of Ebola in West Africa has caused a large number of discussions lately. The virus has already resulted in at least 4,922 deaths worldwide according to World Health Organisation (WHO). But it is worth critically evaluating the situation and questioning whether Ebola is a genuine pandemic threat, or it is another conspiracy such as bird flu andswine flu, profiting drug companies.
Previously the world was greatly concerned with H1N1 also known as swine flu, which has caused 18, 000 deaths worldwide according to WHO. But that is just a small fraction of the number who die from seasonal flu every year. Let us compare the numbers, another strain of H1N1 known as Spanish influenza killed an estimated 50 million people worldwide in 1918, according to Centre for Respiratory Infection at Imperial College London. 18, 000 deaths against 50 million deaths helped vaccine manufactures make windfall profits of around £4 billion, according to the Independent. Thus Critics claimed the WHO had exaggerated the danger of swine flu, spreading "fear and confusion" rather than "immediate information".
Even though 18, 000 deaths is a large number and it would be inhumane not to feel sympathetic, it only represents approximately 0.0002% of the world population. And what about Ebola? 4, 922 deaths make up for 0.00007% of the world population. But one could argue it is more sensible to assess local rates of the impact of Ebola. The largest number of deaths caused by Ebola was documented in Liberia, around 2, 700 (WHO 2014) with total population of Liberia around 4.3 million people. In other words the likeliness of one dying from Ebola in Liberia is 0.06%.
The issue is not whether Ebola poses a risk but whether the risk is big enough to justify the diversion of precious funds to influenza vaccines, when diseases such as heart disease and hypertension kill many more people each year.
To conclude, once in a while the world is hyped with discussions of certain pandemic threat and millions of vaccines are being produced; taking away form the focus of political and economic issues. I would like to hear people’s comments on this issue and to understand the significance of the latest Ebola outbreak.
