Epidemics in AfricaOne of the most devastating and frightening diseases encroaching on unsuspecting African communities is the deadly Ebola virus. This virus is believed to have first appeared in the mid-1970s, with outbreaks in Sudan and Zaire. These outbreaks have resulted in more than 600 cases of infected people and alarming case fatality rates of up to 90 percent.1 Such profound numbers have struck fear and panic into the hearts of the local population, with people confused and scared to death. the idea of ​​losing all of their limbs. of their family. Yet despite the severity of the 1970s outbreak, Ebola managed to remain fairly quiet for several years until a cluster of outbreaks occurred in the mid-1990s in northeastern Gabon as well as in Zaire. Several years later, expressing the same palpable sense of fear, Ebola entered the scene again, this time in Uganda in 2000.2As a student volunteer working for a health charity in Gulu, Uganda this summer There, the reality of death and the effects of illness consumed my thoughts as I reflected on the risks I took every day by simply being in the middle of an outbreak. Ten new suspected cases were diagnosed every day at the local hospital, and medical staff faced an overwhelming workload. Surgical supplies were in short supply as protective clothing constantly had to be discarded after each exposure, due to the highly contagious nature of the rapidly spreading virus. The smell of bleach and disinfectant pierced our nostrils, as our rubber boots and equipment were sprayed after contact with the infected. The scene conveyed a sense of despair and uncertainty, as people wondered what they had done to...... middle of paper ......5 Simpson, 11.6 Ibid.7 Smyth .8 Vidal, 5.9 Ibid.10 Ibid. ., 6.11 Ibid., 8. Works cited: Associated Press. “Ebola virus outbreak kills 37 people” The Guardian, October 18, 2000: B7+McCarthy, Michael. “Ebola epidemic continues in Uganda”, The Lancet 356 (2000): Science and medicine section. Recer, Paul. "Sick animals may be the source of Ebola" Associated Press Online, January 15, 2004: 1+Simpson, DIH "Marburg and Ebola virus infections: a guide to their diagnosis, management and control", Offset publication of the WHO 36 (1997: 5) -27Smyth, Garry. “Six Days in Hell: City Man Films Ebola,” St. John's Telegram (Newfoundland), November 14, 2000: sec. news; p.1. Front.Vidal, John. “Life: Most of them are dead, Ebola is devastating entire villages, but we don't know where it came from” The Guardian (London), June 17 2004: 4-8.