Aug 12. 2014. Cordon Sanitaire

I have always been wondering how, where, and when exactly Ebola virus has appeared in Guinea. There should be an origin from one Ebola affected human being to spread to West Africa. The severeness of Ebola was beyond my imagination; One Ebola patient who was going to Nigeria from Liberia spread Ebola virus to passengers in the airplane, and 11 people are now in probable/ suspect Ebola cases and 2 people were dead. Likewise, Ebola virus should have started from one Ebola positive patient in the place of origin.

To my astonishment, I found the article that Ebola outbreak may have started with a toddler, the virus was spread to the family, and it spread further to people who attended funeral. And now, we see the Ebola outbreak has become “International health emergency,” declared by WHO, and as of August 11, 2014, Ebola cases are 1,847 and the death toll is 1,013 in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria. Experts say it should be much more than that, at most 50% more than detected case, because people in remote villages are afraid of hospital and hide their Ebola affected family members. If the patients cannot be isolated, the situation would be worse, and containing this disease would remain challenging for a long time.

<Report: Ebola outbreak probably started with 2-year-old in Guinea>

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/11/health/ebola-patient-zero/index.html

Troops has already been dispatched to the border of Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea, and to the Kailahun and Kenema districts, the highest Ebola affected region in Sierra Leone, to seal off this place with cordon sanitaire: a guarded line that nobody is allowed out in this infected area. They are locked up. Surprisingly, this disease-fighting tactic has not used at all since 1918, to stop typhus between Poland and Russia. Cordon was common during the most devastating pandemics, the Black Death in 1346-1353. How do we control this disease? We cannot let them die in the infected area like people did in the medieval area.

<Using a Tactic Unseen in a Century, Countries Cordon Off Ebola-Racked Areas>
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/13/science/using-a-tactic-unseen-in-a-century-countries-cordon-off-ebola-racked-areas.html

"Where is the Outbreak?"- The New York Times

<What You Need to Know About the Ebola Outbreak>

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/07/31/world/africa/ebola-virus-outbreak-qa.html