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Who’s to blame for Ebola?

The current outbreak of Ebola in West Africa has called into question the effectiveness of both national and international responses to health emergencies. It is clear that the health systems of the countries involved did not have the means to cope with a virus completely new to them. But what about the international response? Could there have been better preparation, where is the global virus response strategy?

For years epidemiologists have warned of the potential for new viral pandemics. Statistically viral outbreaks affecting large groups of people happen every 20 to 50 years. As this cycle seemed to be broken had the international health community become complacent?

We’ve seen what appears to be the successful application of a novel, expensive cure for the disease, why wasn’t this made available earlier and to far more of those affected by the virus? Does this thrown into question the way in which drugs for dangerous diseases are developed?

In Health Check this week Claudia Hammond invite eminent virologists, epidemiologists and international health strategists to discuss these issues.

Photo: Getty Images: Doctors Without Borders (MSF) putting on protective gear at the isolation ward of the Donka Hospital in Conakry, where people infected with the Ebola virus are being treated.