The document discusses the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa. It notes that on August 8, 2014, the WHO declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern due to the scale of the outbreak across multiple countries, the severity of infections, and weak health systems in affected countries. The declaration came despite delays by the WHO in labeling it an emergency due to experimental containment techniques being ineffective and authorities hesitating to accept the scale of the outbreak.

1. EBOLA-PUBLIC HEALTH
EMERGENCY OF INTERNATIONAL
CONCERN
BY-DR.
Chetan Kumar Jevoor
House surgeon
GUIDE-DR.
Laxmikant Lokare
Associate proffessor
Dept. of PSM

2. The Ebola outbreak in West Africa constituted an
‘extraordinary event’ Countries affected to date
simply did not have capacity to manage an outbreak
of this size on their own.
There was need of support from international
community to help regarding this.
With 1,711 confirmed and suspected cases ,and 932
deaths till 4th august ,it makes Ebola outbreak a
public health risk.

3. WHO Statement on the Meeting of the International
Health Regulations Emergency Committee Regarding
the 2014 Ebola Outbreak in West Africa
The first meeting of the Emergency Committee
conducted by the Director-General under the
International Health Regulations (2005) regarding
the 2014 Ebola Virus Disease outbreak in West
Africa was held on 6 August and on 7 August 2014.
These meetings stressed upon measures taken to
implement rapid control strategies, existing gaps and
challenges in outbreak response.

4. EMERGENCY COMMITTEE adviced to
consider following before declaring
Ebola outbreak as PHEIC
STATES WITH EBOLA TRANSMISSION
•The head of state should declare a national emergency.
•Health ministers and other health leaders should assume
leadership role in coordinating response to Ebola
outbreak.
•States should activate their national disaster and
emergency management mechanisms.

5. •Ensure health care workers receive adequate
security measures for their safety and protection ,
training on IPC and PPEs.
•Essential strong supply pipeline be estlablished to
ensure that sufficient medical commodities like
PPEs are available.

6. States with a potential or confirmed Ebola
case,and unaffected states with land borders
with affected states.
•Surveillance for unexplained fever cases and deaths.
•New state degtecting suspected or confirmed case or
contact, should treat it as health emergency.

7. All states
•No general ban on international travelling and trading.
•Should be prepared to detect ,investigate, and manage
Ebola case.
•General public should be given health education about
the disease.

8. On 8th August 2014,WHO chief Dr.Chan declared
West African Ebola outbreak as “PUBLIC HEALTH
EMERGENCY OF INTERNATIONAL CONCERN”.
It is the largest,most severe and most complex
outbreak in the nearly four decade history of
disease.

9. Factors that led to the situation being labelled as
Public Health Emergency of International Concern
• Scope of the disease in West Africa and the
threat to other nations.
• The seriousness of the infections.
• Intensive community and health facility
transmission patterns.
• Weak health systems in currently affected and
most at risk countries.
• Need for a coordinated international response
to stop and reverse the spread of disease.

10. Threat to other countries
•Fragile health systems with deficits in
human, financial and material resources to
mount an adequate Ebola outbreak control
response.
•Inexperience in dealing with Ebola outbreak
,misperceptions of disease.
•High mobility of populations and several
instances of cross-border movement of
travellesrs with infection.

11. DELAY BY WHO
Despite the first attack that came to be recognized as early as
in March, the outbreak came to be declared as international
world health emergency only in August because of numerous
factors which included,
• Experimental techniques to contain the outbreak like
transmission barriers, drugs and Z-map--all of which
nevertheless were ineffective.
• Hesitation on the part of authorities to accept in its true form
the enormity and the seriousness of the outbreak.

12. Other recent public health
emergencies of
international concern
• Wild poliovirus outbreak on 5th May 2014.
• H1N1 pandemic on 25th April 2009.

13. BIOSAFETY LEVEL and EBOLA
A biosafety level is a level of
biocontainment precautions required to isolate
dangerous biological agents in an enclosed facility.
The levels of containment range from the lowest
biosafety level 1 to level 4.
– Level 1& 2: basic laboratories
– Level 3: containment laboratories
– Level 4 : high containment laboratories

14. BSL-4
•Lethal, pathogenic agent.
•Readily transmittable-direct, indirect.
•Effective treatment and preventive measures not usually
available.
•EBOLA, LASSA and MARBURG

15. Ebola falls under BSL-4

16. BIOTERRORISM and EBOLA
• Bioterrorism is terrorism involving the intentional release or
dissemination of biological agents.
• These agents are bacteria, viruses, or toxins, and may be in a
naturally occurring or a human-modified form.
• These agents responsible for bioterrorism are divided into 3
category.

17. Category A
• These high-priority agents pose a risk to national security, can
be easily transmitted and disseminated, result in high
mortality, have potential major public health impact, may
cause public panic, or require special action for public health
preparedness.
• Ebola virus falls under this category.
• Other agents like Small pox virus, Botulinum toxin and Lassa
virus.

18. • Ebola's exponential spread has rekindled fears
that terrorists may seek to turn the virus into a
powerful weapon of mass destruction.
• Such talk has occurred on Capitol Hill and in
national security circles. But the financial and
logistical challenges of transforming Ebola into a
tool of bioterror makes the concern seem
overblown—at least as far as widespread
devastation is concerned.

19. References
•Ebola virus disease. http://www.who.int/csr/disease/ebola/en/.
•Bioterrorism.http://www.wikipedia.com
•Biosafety level.http://www.wikipedia.com