https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Musa_Kana/publication/280733518_Ebola_viewed_through_a_lens_of_African_epidemiology/links/55c5333308aebc967df38911.pdf
Musa Abubakar Kana1,2, OY Elegba3
, Jackie Obey4
, Faina Linkov5
, Eugene Shubnikov6
1
Department of Community Medicine, Kaduna State University, Nigeria
2
EPI Unit, Institute of Public Health, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
3
Department of Medical Microbiology, Kaduna State University, Nigeria
4
Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, University of Eastern Africa, Baraton,
Kenya
5
Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, University of
Pittsburgh School of Medicine, USA
6
Institute of Internal Medicine, Novosibirsk, Russia
Corresponding author:
Musa Abubakar Kana
Faculty of Medicine
Kaduna State University
Kaduna
Nigeria
Telephone: +234-803-5909560
email: musakana77@yahoo.com
2
Abstract
The unprecedented Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa began suddenly in early
2014. This had dire consequences to the already weak health systems of the affected
countries and worldwide transmission of fear in unaffected areas. This commentary aims
to describe how our international group built the “Just in Time” Ebola educational lecture
for global circulation, and how we in Africa viewed the Ebola outbreak by reviewing the
occurrence, limited spread and containment in Nigeria.
The evolution of the global interest on Ebola showed that there were three peaks. These
peaks caused major spikes in public fear and interest in disease that surrounded each
spike in disease rates. We recognized this problem and suggested that scientists are
viewed typically as unbiased sources of knowledge. Thus our group created a lecture by
summarizing the scientific facts published by global scientists and public health
institutions. This educational module was prepared in a day, followed by translation of
these modules into 13 languages in 2 days. It was then shared with the world, very
rapidly through multiple electronic media channels, including email, websites, and social
media sites.
One of the intriguing findings in West Africa during the Ebola outbreak was that Nigeria,
despite having the largest population in the region, was largely untouched by the
epidemic, even when there were imported cases. The remarkable outcome in Nigeria has
lent more evidence that the appropriate and timely application of preventive measures is
effective in minimizing spread and reducing disease burden.
Keywords: Ebola virus disease; Outbreak; Transmission; West Africa
