Smacc

Nikki Blackwell tells her story of the emergency response to the Ebola outbreak in Nzerekore, Guinea. She chronicles the enormous challenges of providing care to some of the most vulnerable people in the world, in one of the most under resourced and challenging environments. The Ebola virus was first isolated in 1976. Between then and 2013 there were twenty outbreaks of Ebola. However, the outbreaks, although vicious, were relatively small and in isolated areas. This outbreak was by far the most complex, with a mortality rate of up to 40%. The fruit bat is the natural host and reservoir of Ebola. They transmit it to other animals, and ultimately humans. Human to human transmission occurs from body fluids, mucous membranes, and sexual contacts. Nzerekore, Guinea has a terrible health service and infrastructure stemming from a long period of conflict. This is further exacerbated by the scarce number of doctors. Further, what compounded the problem even more was the delayed recognition and action from the intern