Epidemiology: Open Access

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A Retrospective Review of Ebola Outbreak in West Africa: Social Determinants and Control Measures

Ogbonna Collins Nwabuko, Uche Ngozi Nwamoh and John Austin Chikezie

Ebola Viral Disease (EVD) is a fatal hemorrhagic disease of Public health importance caused by Ebola virus. It has only been recorded in low-income countries of sub-Saharan African countries, particularly in West Africa, where the poverty level is high and the environmental sanitation is very poor. The West African outbreak of this deadly disease has been described as the most complex outbreak pattern since its inception in 1976. It was declared a bioterrorism against West Africa at the time of its outbreak in 2014-2016 when over 27,000 people were infected. This retrospective study is a historical survey of the outbreak of EVD in West Africa between 2014 and 2016, the location and mapping of the first and subsequent outbreaks, the morbidity and mortality reports in the countries involved the Social determinants of EVD outbreak in the region and the recommended control/preventive measures. A literature search strategy was by translating two major terms (‘Ebola Outbreak’ and ‘Retrospective study’) to the controlled vocabulary of database. This was conducted using Google search machine, MEDLINE, Embase, AJOL, PubMed, Cochrane Database Systematic Review (CDSR) and WHO Ebola viral disease report database, with the aim of identifying relevant population-based studies with information on the prevalence and Case Fatality Rates of EVD in various locations in the West African regions.

EVD outbreak in Africa is a public health emergency and a threat to the global community. Therefore, proactive measures are required by the government and other international health donor agencies to curb this ravaging menace, not only in West African region, but globally. This is achievable by breaking the epidemiologic chains of the viral transmission and provision of prophylactic and therapeutic interventions to the target population in the Ebola virus high pressure zones.