After the Holy Family traveled to Jerusalem to present young Jesus at the temple, this Sunday’s gospel tells us, they returned to their town Nazareth where “the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.” Families in towns and villages across western Africa have grown weak instead of strong this year in the face of the worst outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus ever documented.

As of December 22, 19,374 suspected cases and 7,533 deaths had been reported; however, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said that these numbers may be vastly underestimated. Aside from the human cost, the outbreak has severely eroded the economies of the affected countries. A Financial Times report suggested the economic impact of the outbreak could kill more people than the virus itself.

As of September 23, in the three hardest hit countries, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea, only 893 treatment beds were available even though the current need was 2,122 beds. In a September 26 statement, the WHO said, "The Ebola epidemic ravaging parts of West Africa is the most severe acute public health emergency seen in modern times. Never before in recorded history has a biosafety level four pathogen infected so many people so quickly, over such a broad geographical area, for so long."

The WHO reported that by August 25 more than 216 healthcare workers were among the dead, partly due to the lack of equipment and long hours. There have also been isolated cases of infected healthcare workers returning to the U.S. and Spain since the outbreak began to accelerate last spring.

It could take several more months before the Ebola outbreak is under control, the U.N.’s Ebola envoy, David Nabarro, said last Thursday. There has been a “massive shift” in the past four months as communities have heightened efforts and the international community has pitched in, Nabarro said, but greater efforts are still needed, particularly in western Sierra Leone.

Homily hint: An honest assessment demonstrates that only when Ebola hit our own shores did most of us start paying attention. True, we can’t be everywhere doing everything, but as Christians who care about the suffering of others, we can commit to staying informed on crises such as Ebola whether or not they are “hot topics” in the media. Dig deeper for information.

Source: Articles by Ebola Deeply, Wikipedia, WHO Update