Ebola ‘can’t sustain itself’, infectious disease expert Dr David Heymann tells Africa DownUnder mining conference in Perth

THE Ebola outbreak ravaging West Africa will be contained because the disease kills people too quickly to sustain itself, an infectious disease expert says.

Medical workers of the John Fitzgerald Kennedy hospital of Monrovia wear their protective suit before going to the high-risk area of the hospital, the surgical section where Ebola patients are being treated, on September 3, 2014. Nurses at Liberia's largest hospital went on strike on September 1, 2014, demanding better pay and equipment to protect them against a deadly Ebola epidemic which has killed hundreds in the west African nation.AFP PHOTO / DOMINIQUE FAGET

THE Ebola outbreak ravaging West Africa will be contained because the disease kills people too quickly to sustain itself, an infectious disease expert says.

David Heymann, the head of global health security at policy think tank Chatham House, said it had been difficult to respond to the current and worst ever outbreak because it was so widespread, having crossed three countries.

A robust response was needed to stop Ebola from spreading, Dr Heymann said, but when the impact of that would start to show could not be predicted.

“I’m fairly certain it will be contained and it will stop spreading,” he said.

“It’s too virulent, it kills people too rapidly and it’s very easy then to get rid of.

“Ebola doesn’t transmit easily — it has to be close body contact and when it does transmit, it then sets up a chain of highly virulent disease that doesn’t have a change to settle into humans.”

Dr Heymann has held various epidemiology roles at the World Health Organisation, including heading the global response to the 2003 SARS epidemic.

He was also involved in the first and second major Ebola outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1976 and 1995.

Dr Heymann said acute infections appeared to be occurring more frequently but it wasn’t clear why.

It was possible infections were being detected better than in the past or that populations had reached a critical point where animals and humans were living closer together, he said.

He said sick animals were known to pass on Ebola to humans, like in 1996 when 19 people in Gabon died after eating a dead chimpanzee they found in the forest.

“In Africa, the hypothesis is that many times these are coming from animals that are sold in live animal markets and then butchered,” Dr Heymann said.

Aside from the health concerns, the Ebola outbreak is severely affecting West Africa’s economy.

Several mining firms have evacuated expatriates and suspended operations in countries like Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, where the toll has been heaviest.

Restrictions on movement in the countries has also led to panic buying, food shortages and severe price hikes.

Dr Heymann said emerging infections were not a new concern for mining companies in Africa, but they were still exposed to the health and economic risks of outbreaks.

He said companies were calculating the financial cost of the Ebola outbreak but many had expressed to him that their greatest concern was the safety of their staff.

Dr Heymann will speak about the impact of Ebola on mining operations in West Africa at the Africa DownUnder conference in Perth today.

Originally published as Ebola ‘can’t sustain itself’, infectious disease expert Dr David Heymann tells Africa DownUnder mining conference in Perth