A Perspective on Ebola and Public Health Issues in Africa

Contagion, the 1996 best seller by Robin Cook later transformed to a movie, and Outbreak, an earlier feature film, chronicle the public health implications of a deadly virus. Since January of this year, the world has been confronted with a devastating outbreak that is far from fictional: At least 2,000 people have been infected, and more than half of them have died, due to the Ebola virus disease (EVD) in several African countries. Ultimately, the disease’s impact on human life will be of …