Ebola

WebQuest

Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever

You have had an introduction to the Retroviruses and now it is your turn to explore the topic in more depth.

 

Teachers:  Consider breaking your class into teams to and have them present there findings persuasively to the class.  There are many ways that this could be accomplished.  You might remind them that you represent the congressional committee that ultimately authorizes dispersion of the funds.  Good luck!

 

Background
Part 1

You are part of a health care team where you are dependant on research dollars.  Sometimes choices need to be made in how many resources to devote to different diseases.

 

Your job is to persuade the government of your country that Ebola is important to understand and that it is necessary to spend a significant amount of money to look for treatments because of the potential harm it can cause humans, not only in Africa , but as a potential bioweapon. Therefore a lot of money should be spent on it.

 

Check out these web sites and the ones you explored on your web quest to build your argument.  You will present your ideas to the class on Day 5

 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/05/020508074034.htm

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/04/08/terror/main548337.shtml

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebola#Economic_impact

 

 

Other things to consider:

Ebola is a relatively minor disease with low transmission rates between humans.  Do you think that with the current global environment and limited budget resources that monies could be better spent on other disease such as Malaria, HIV, Tuberculosis, etc.

 

Check out these web site and the ones you explored on your web quest to help build your argument.  You will present your ideas to the class on Day 5.

 

http://www.who.int/infectious-disease-report/pages/ch15text.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4456900.stm

http://ucatlas.ucsc.edu/cause.php

Part 2

Many social conditions including poverty, lack of education, and regional instability contribute to the initial infection and spread of the Ebola virus.  Your team must come up with realistic solutions to these conditions and present recommendations to help prevent outbreaks of Ebloa

Use the following web sites to help you start your task.

 

http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/where_we_work/africa/problems/ebola/index.cfm

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/spb/mnpages/dispages/humanitarian.htm

http://www.who.int/csr/don/2004_06_11/en/

http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/fac/hewlett/ebola.html (EHF is Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever)

 

 

Other things to consider:

Ebola virus is having deleterious effects on wild animal populations. Do you think there are connections between human and wildlife health? Provide justification.

 

Check out these following web sites as well as the ones in the webquest to help you in your task.

 

http://www.globalpolicy.org/socecon/envronmt/2003/0407apes.htm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2872421.stm

http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/where_we_work/africa/problems/ebola/index.cfm