One Lesson: Rush to Help, not to declare victory

EDITORIAL    THE WASHINGTON POST                                Jan. 31, 2015

THE WORLD’S tardy response to the Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa, which has killed 8,810 people, demands that lessons be learned.

 Toward that end, a fresh batch of scientific reports has emerged in recent days to guide future responses. The World Health Organization, which stumbled in the initial period, seems to be recognizing its mistakes and looking for ways to correct them.... it is vital to keep medical interventions in place for long periods — and a big mistake to declare victory too early. The research also shows that most transmission of Ebola occurred in families....

...in parts of the world where health-care infrastructure is weak, it is of huge benefit to isolate the infected even in rudimentary facilities, and that an airlift of temporary centers can make a real difference.
Read complete editorial:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/what-worked-in-controlling-the-ebola-outbreak-in-west-africa/2015/01/30/7a0cfd10-a643-11e4-a06b-9df2002b86a0_story.html

Links to cited reports follow:

Chains of transmission and control of Ebola virus disease in Conakry, Guinea, in 2014: an observational study

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099%2814%2971075-8/fulltext

CDC: Effectiveness of Ebola Treatment Units and Community Care Centers — Liberia, September 23–October 31, 2014

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6403a6.htm?s_cid=mm6403a6_w

CDC: A Plan for Community Event-Based Surveillance to Reduce Ebola Transmission — Sierra Leone, 2014–2015

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6403a7.htm?s_cid=mm6403a7_w