Two recent talks by 91麻豆精品 professors give some context to the ebola outbreak response from two angles, one by a virologist examining the nature of epidemics, and the other from a perspective of government response, specifically in Liberia.
Mary Moran
In a at Duke University, , professor of anthropology and , focused on how the crisis is a major challenge for Liberia鈥檚 President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first woman elected president of an African nation, who some are calling to resign.
鈥淲ith the relentless and not inaccurate official descriptions of the epidemic as 鈥榦ut of control鈥 and threatening the stability and even existence of the nation state, what can a 76-year-old woman half way through her second and last term in office do to convince her fellow citizens to comply with the emotionally wrenching 鈥榖est practices鈥 of virus containment, including giving up their sick, dying, and dead family members to strangers in white 鈥榮pace suites,鈥 in most cases never to see them again,鈥 Moran said.
At a recent campus brown-bag discussion, , an associate professor of whose research focuses on reoviruses, told students that current speculation of the possibility of the virus becoming airborne is without much merit, as such a mutation is an incredibly unlikely biological stretch.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think the fears about it mutating and becoming airborne are really founded,鈥 Holm said.
Listen to the following audio clip of Holm鈥檚 talk about why he believes ebola will not spread through the air:
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