>All I can do is scratch my head, wondering what the reporter isn't saying. Just what is it that Firestone is doing differently? It sure appears to be working, so it would be great to replicate if possible.
They are doing nothing different than what has worked in all the other Ebola outbreaks which is catch the outbreak early and implement effective infection control.
A better question is why did this outbreak get out of control? The sad reason is incompetence. The WHO staff in west Africa appointed to watch out for Ebola outbreaks were, to quote Peter Piot [1], “[not] the most capable people but ... political appointees”. Some genius had also decided that gutting the department for hemorrhagic fever and the one responsible for the management of epidemic emergencies at the WHO was a great idea. This meant that there was no one around to respond. The outbreak was allowed to run wild for six months until it got so big that it overwhelmed the local health authorities (this occurred around August) and the case numbers took off exponentially.
They are doing nothing different than what has worked in all the other Ebola outbreaks which is catch the outbreak early and implement effective infection control.
A better question is why did this outbreak get out of control? The sad reason is incompetence. The WHO staff in west Africa appointed to watch out for Ebola outbreaks were, to quote Peter Piot [1], “[not] the most capable people but ... political appointees”. Some genius had also decided that gutting the department for hemorrhagic fever and the one responsible for the management of epidemic emergencies at the WHO was a great idea. This meant that there was no one around to respond. The outbreak was allowed to run wild for six months until it got so big that it overwhelmed the local health authorities (this occurred around August) and the case numbers took off exponentially.
[1] http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/interview-with-pet...