It sounds like an exotic African name.
A sense of urgency, even panic, is gripping the world as the Ebola
virus, the scourge of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, are beginning to
spread elsewhere. Since this latest and most serious outbreak began in March
2014, 4,000 people have died. First identified in 1976 and named after the
Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of Congo, this outbreak is causing some
great global concern.
The President of the relief organisation ‘Doctors Without Borders’
declared that the situation regarding Ebola is ‘deteriorating faster, and moving faster, than we can respond.’
Furthermore, it is not just a health issue; people in West Africa are being
quarantined without some of life’s basic necessities. Thus, it is also morphing
into a humanitarian crisis, too. Remember, if more panic sets in and the virus
spreads, much of our western human rights will be at risk, too. Governments
will give people no choice, where they go while they live and how they will be
disposed of if they die.
Ebola is spread by bodily secretions and blood, but it is not
airborne. Treatment can involve maintenance of oxygen and blood pressure,
proper hydration and electrolytes. Unfortunately for impoverished Africans,
health workers don’t have proper protective clothing or clean syringes, thus
making the spread even faster. Apparently, even the corpse of an Ebola victim
is still toxic and can spread the disease if not handled properly. In this
environment, false rumours and mythology about the virus are also causing more
problems and massive complications.
On September 16th, 2014, US President Barack Obama announced
Operation United Assistance to help West Africans combat the disease. It is a
supreme humanitarian mission. Soldier will have no direct contact with the
ailing; they would help build facilities and help make protection garments more
accessible to health care workers. In
other words, international assistance is required to help West Africa through
this crisis.
The likelihood of Ebola spreading is minimised, since most of the
victims are poor Africans. The ones who could spread it are western health care
workers and missionaries, who have the finance to fly back to their home
countries. Unfortunately, they are carrying the infection with them
Two US missionaries contracted the disease at its initial outbreak
and returned to the United States for treatment. They received a very mixed
response: some applauded their courage at standing in harm’s way in order to
service others. However, they also were criticised for their quixotic
behaviour, bringing with them a problem America can do without. One
conservative columnist said their missionary zeal would have been better
expressed by staying and ministering in an increasingly hostile post-Christian
America, where Biblical values have been attacked for the past half century by
the cultural civil war.
While Ebola is capturing the headlines, we need to remember that
there are other ferocious diseases out there which are killing more people and
costing more money. For example, tuberculosis is a treatable, preventable
disease and the global rate of infection is falling. However, even so, in 2012,
8.6 million people were infected and 1.3 million died. The economic cost: $12
billion. Three countries that are greatly affected by TB are all aspiring
regional powers: Russia, China, and India.
Malaria infects 200 million each year with a death rate of 630,000.
This is a big drop from the 2 million annual death figure from the past, but it
is still significant. Remember other recent scourges:
SARS (2003): 8,000 sick and 774 deaths;
H5N1 or ‘bird flu’ (since 2003) 650 sick and 386 deaths;
MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (recent) 837 sick, 291
deaths;
H1N1 or ‘swine flu.’ This was declared a pandemic in 2009. About
284,000 died, however, this is a similar rate to those who died each year from
the common flu.
It is right and proper that governments and health organisations
take the threat of Ebola seriously. However, we need to be careful to avoid
exaggeration and sensationalism in reporting this serious issue. We do
ourselves no favors by accentuating one problem, while ignoring those that are
much bigger.
From a Biblical perspective, remember that the 10 plagues of Egypt
where inflicted by the LORD God Himself as a judgment against the gods of
Egypt, whom He wanted to show as impotent and dead. Jesus Christ also gives
early warning in Matthew 24:7 (KJV & NKJV) that some of the signs of His
second coming include famines, earthquakes, and pestilences. Despite much medical advancement and the eradication
of diseases like polio and smallpox, we are not immune from many things, like
Ebola, normal flu, or even the common cold.
With so much uncertainty and concern, the most important thing you
can do to secure your physical, mental, and emotional health, is to invest in
your spiritual life and put the Kingdom of God first (Matthew 6:33). Our times,
like everything else, must be put into His hands and kept there.
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