Rabat – New research has found the majority of cases in the Ebola outbreak of 2014-2015 were caused by the phenomenon of “super spreaders,” according to BBC News.
Super spreaders are small pockets of infected individuals who pass a virus on to a larger group of people who then, in turn, infect still more people. Nearly 2/3 or 61% of infected Ebola sufferers in the world’s largest outbreak of the disease in 2014-2015 were caused by these so-called super spreaders. The question for researchers was how and why?
According to the same BBC report, super spreaders are more likely to be young or old people. Understanding why this is occurring will help in handling future outbreaks of virulent diseases such as Ebola, severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) or Middle East respiratory syndrome (Mers).
During the last outbreak, researchers studied life patterns of the infected to learn who was infected and where the infection occurred. According to Professor Steven Riley from Imperial College London, “Most cases had a relatively short infectious period and generated low numbers of secondary infections, whereas a smaller number had longer infectious periods and generated more infections.”
The study discovered that children 15 years of age or younger, and adults aged 45 or older, were more likely to spread the virus. Researchers are speculating that the reason for this can be explained by “people coming to care for the young or old,” becoming infected and spreading the virus exponentially.
Super Spreaders are not a new theory. They have been implicated in outbreaks of several viruses. Professor Jonathan Ball, a virologist at the University of Nottingham, told the BBC, “Knowing who is most likely to transmit the virus can help in focusing interventions designed to prevent virus spread, and the current study suggests that infected children and the elderly were more likely to pass their virus on.”
The study was an international collaboration involving Princeton University, Oregon State University, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Imperial College London and the US National Institutes of Health.
During the 2014-2015 Ebola outbreak, Royal Air Maroc(RAM) distinguished itself and Morocco by actively participating in delivering aid to stricken Liberia. As reported at the time by Morocco World News, at the height of the outbreak, when most airlines shut their corridors to infected countries, Morocco’s Royal Air Maroc stayed open and ready to assist.
When Liberia found itself most isolated by the outside world, it was RAM who answered the call for help, delivering drugs, specialists and much-needed equipment. The airline was honoured by Liberia for its humanity during the crisis.
