Ebola reveals weak points in medical system

US scientists told a workshop in Washington on Nov 3 that many questions about the Ebola epidemic, like the exact pattern of how the virus spreads, remain unanswered. Two days later, China announced it would dispatch more than 1,000 medical and public health workers to West Africa to control the epidemic.

One of the questions is how to secure the safety of Chinese medical helpers. The new teams of Chinese will be in addition to the 134 Chinese health personnel already working in the worst hit countries of Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. Since Chinese health professionals, including specialists, are working in quarantine centers, virus testing labs and hospitals taking care of the general health needs of the local people, they are at a high risk of being infected by Ebola.

Senior officials with the National Health and Family Planning Commission have pledged to fly back, if necessary, Chinese citizens who contract the virus for proper treatment. And the government has designated some top hospitals in East China to treat them.

A source who claims anonymity, however, revealed an obstacle in the process. "China doesn't have a negative-pressure airplane with an aero-medical biological containment system, essential to transport Ebola patients." To overcome the problem, the source said, China has to seek the help of other countries.

The Ebola outbreak has also prompted China to build a highly sophisticated bio-safety laboratory, known as P4, in Wuhan, Hubei province, to conduct research into deadly viruses, including Ebola. The government is known to be planning more such facilities given the fear of more epidemics in the future.

Starting April, China has sent four rounds of emergency relief worth 750 million yuan ($122 million) to West Africa and pledged more aid until the outbreak is controlled. China's quick response prompted Sierra Leonean President Ernest Bai Koroma to thank the government and people of China for their assistance to his country in time of need. He said: "China has demonstrated to us that it is our special friend."

China has been in the forefront of the fight against Ebola in West Africa, with World Bank President Jim Yong Kim praising the country for sending medical workers to the affected region in West Africa.

He, however, stressed that another 5,000 health workers from outside the region are needed to control the epidemic.

The World Health Organization has recorded more than 13,000 cases and almost 5,000 deaths, but warned that the real number could be much higher. The WHO and top UN officials have been appealing for funds and manpower to combat the epidemic. But until now, only 30 medical teams from across the world have reached the Ebola-hit areas.

　Inside West Africa, medical workers are taking precaution in their contact with Ebola patients and the virus. Among the new batch of 1,000 Chinese medical workers selected to go to West Africa is Yang Peng, a specialist in infectious diseases at the center for disease control and prevention in Beijing. Yang says his mother burst into tears after being told that he was going to the Ebola-hit region for a second time.

Yang spent 32 days in Guinea starting from mid-August to help evaluate and control the epidemic. He says: "I always carried a sterilizer ... because a public health specialist by instinct would want to get a closer look at a case ... so protection is required." On his return, he was quarantined for the mandatory 21 days before being allowed to go home.

The experience gathered by medical specialists like Yang in West Africa will help China conduct in-depth research into the virus, and determine ways to control such an epidemic and treat patients.

National Health and Family Planning Commission Minister Li Bin has vowed to expand the area of joint research into the virus and strengthen the health department's response mechanism to emergencies like Ebola.

Chinese health workers have demonstrated their determination and willingness to fight the deadly virus. And the nation should applaud their great work.