Ebola Viral Disease in West Africa: A Threat to Global Health, Economy and Political Stability

Omoleke, Semeeh Akinwale; Mohammed, Ibrahim; Saidu, Yauba

Unlike vaccines, R&D efforts geared towards developing novel tools for rapid and timely diagnoses of EBV seem to be minimal. As early symptoms of EBV often have a wide range of plausible differential diagnoses, prompt detection of the virus is essential for containing outbreaks. Currently, real timepolymerase chain reaction 107 and antigen detection ELISA 108 tests are the most widely used tests to establish the diagnosis of EVD. These test procedures are mostly conducted in specialized national or international centers, which are generally far off from areas where outbreaks often occur. To address this challenge, simple serological assays and portable real-time thermocyclers appropriate for field use, have been developed; however, deployment of these technologies has been logistically and technically challenging, partly because of the difficult terrain and cultural beliefs of the populations. 87 These diagnostic drawbacks have a potentially negative impact on early diagnosis of outbreaks, which in turn, has hampered early initiation of measures to prevent severe disease outcomes as well as unprecedented spread of the virus.