The immense disease known as the Ebola virus began its reign of terror in the continent of Africa in February of 2014. Due to the virus being contained and isolated to the western countries of Africa, the majority of the world does not understand how great of an impact the Ebola virus had; many would also argue that since West Africa is made up of “Third World” countries that its affect was infinitesimal. The truth is that the Ebola virus caused thousands of deaths and major damage to West Africa’s economy; as well as minor economic damage worldwide and the potential to cause worldwide struggle.

Researchers have proven that the Ebola virus derived from fruit bats located in western Africa and that the virus mutated; causing infection to other animals such as: apes, monkeys, antelope and humans, which begun the cycle of Animal-to-Animal Transmission and the Spillover Effect. Animal-to-Animal Transmission is the movement of a virus from one animal to another animal through physical contact. The Spillover Effect is the process of the Ebola virus spreading to humans through the contact with a reservoir host, whether it is through the act of hunting or preparing the animal for consumption. This progresses into Human-to-Human Transmission, which is the transmission of the virus through humans coming in contact with a diseased human’s blood or other body fluids or coming in contact with diseased remains. This domino effect was the sole reasoning behind the rapid spread of the Ebola virus. As Human-to-Human Transmission caused Ebola quickly spread scientists were easily able to identify the symptoms of the virus.

In the early stages of Ebola the virus is nearly impossible to detect, with the most common symptoms being fever, muscle pain, fatigue, intense headaches, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and unexplained bleeding or bruising; which commonly begins to be displayed in the time period between two and twenty-one days after initial exposure to the virus. Even up to today there is still no vaccine available however, researchers recommend that West Africans avoid bodily contact, wash their hands regularly, avoid eating undercooked food, and refrain from touching the deceased. “The standard protocols for containing the disease — isolating each patient, tracking the people he or she came in contact with, and monitoring all of those people for weeks to see if they develop any symptoms — seem an almost insurmountable task across the four West African nations that have reported about 1,800 cases so far: Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia and Nigeria” (Nossiter). Nonetheless, researchers are determined to keep Ebola native to West Africa since isolation is the best solution for confining Ebola. 

Many believe that Ebola only affected the lives of West Africans and had little to no effect on Western Africa’s economy. People argue that even South Africa, one of the most prominent countries in the continent is struggling greatly financially. In the article “South Africa's economic challenges” the author, Lerato Mebele goes into detail about how due to the cost of living, rise in unemployment, and corruption scandals throughout the country of South Africa has caused drastic rise in unemployment and poverty. “Since the financial crisis, growth has slowed even further - in 2013 the economy grew 1.9% - a snail's pace compared with other emerging markets. Unemployment has also risen to 24%, with jobs seen as the biggest concern among young South Africans” (Mebele). This part of Africa had not even been affected by Ebola and was still in poor condition. In addition some may add that Ebola in no way affected the rest of the world, so why should they care about what is occurring in a continent made up of “Third World” countries. Many believe that it’s the South African’s government’s fault that they are in such a negative situation and Ebola has had nothing to do with it. However, the true downfall of the economy was caused by the fear the Ebola virus created.

The most significant thing that the Ebola virus constructed was fear. People tend to overlook how great of an impact the idea of fear can have on a country, “Fear can drive significant changes in human behavior, leading to border closures and the disruption of businesses, trade, tourism and social events” (Bali). Tourism is a major part of Western Africa, but once the Ebola virus began to advance tourist refused to visit, which was a huge economic blow to the countries that make up western Africa “But then, if you look at the effects again, a lot of businesses went down, the airline industry was severely affected, hospitality industry severely affected, in fact, a lot of the hotels, people stopped coming, and it took quite a while again to start getting them back to come. Some sporting facilities, golf clubs, foreigners stopped coming; schools were shut for a while, a lot of the hospitals were shut” (Bali). Fear can also cause the bond between citizens to nearly completely disappear; people no longer engaged in conversation, and many natives stayed clear of crowded places like a marketplace, in fear of catching the virus. Division was created when the region of West Africa needed it most, causing the Ebola virus to flourish and the African people to lose hope for a better future.

In the New York Times article, “At Heart of Ebola Outbreak, a Village Frozen by Fear and Death” the author Adam Nossiter portrays the economic hardships of West Africa by going into detail about how food prices have skyrocketed due to majority of the farmers being ill or dead, causing a huge decrease in crop production. “‘People are afraid; we asked them to burn them,’ said James Baion, a teacher from the area who is helping to organize an Ebola response on behalf of local officials.The sheet on Mr. Abbah’s bed is still rumpled and the pillow still askew. Poking out from the simple wood bed frame are his sandals. ‘He refused to go to the hospital,’ Mr. Baion said. ‘He was afraid to go.’ After Mr. Abbah died, he was found in a sitting position at the edge of his bed, hunched over, his head bowed. So many of the farmers have died that the residents said this year’s planting season was not likely to occur. ‘This farming season, we can’t do any work,’ said Mr. Jaya, the teacher. ‘We have lost too many people.’” (Nossiter). Due to the fact that thousands of people were losing their lives throughout West Africa many occupations such as farming were left unfulfilled, which lead to immense economic downfall. In 2015 alone the countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea lost over two billion dollars in gross domestic product, causing scarcity in money, food, and human capital development; which may seem like a small amount to people that live in “First World” countries, but to a “Third World” country it is a hefty sum. Due to the falling economy and the hasty spread of the Ebola virus in West Africa, “First World” countries like the United States of America were forced to intervene.  

 As the Ebola virus began to threaten a rapid spread to the United States and other major countries were forced to act, leading to the formation of The Independent Panel on the Health and Human Services Ebola Response. “In March 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) deployed personnel to investigate Ebola cases in Guinea” (The United States Department of Health and Human Services, 27). In continuation “In late August 2014, the Director of CDC and the Director of USAID/OFDA traveled to Liberia. After they returned to the United States, CDC warned that the epidemic was spiraling out of control and that prompt action by the international community was necessary to contain the epidemic” (The United States Department of Health and Human Services, 28). The Independent Panel on the HHS Ebola Response is a portion of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (a cabinet-level department of the U.S. federal government with the goal of protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human service). “The West Africa Ebola outbreak was the largest in history, affecting multiple countries in, and beyond, West Africa. Two imported cases, including one death, and two locally acquired cases in healthcare workers were reported in the United States. CDC worked with other U.S. government agencies, the World Health Organization, and other domestic and international partners to coordinate response activities and technical assistance in the areas of epidemiology, laboratory diagnostics, vaccine development, health/risk communication, and post-outbreak emergency preparedness” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).  Six months after the first reported case in the region, American officials sent nearly three thousand troops in the West African nation and spent nearly one-billion and four-hundred million dollars to help construct nearly a dozen new treatment centers. American tax payers’ money was being devoted to the ongoing epidemic known as Ebola affecting the United States economy financially.

The United States isn’t the only country to aid West Africa; many African countries have also gotten involved in the fight against the Ebola virus, which has led to the creation of the African Union Ebola Outbreak in West Africa. “Through the African Union Ebola Outbreak in West Africa (ASEOWA) mission, Uganda, a country that has dealt with Ebola crises in the past has pledged 25 medical experts to advise regional efforts, as has the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) have given approximately $1 million to reinforce preventative measures aimed at stemming the spread of Ebola throughout West Africa” ( Sy).  As time passed more and more countries began to develop methods to help the effected countries; for example, Senegal created a route for aircrafts to take to easily move supplies in and out of Ghana. South Africa also developed an Ebola diagnostic lab in the heart of Sierra Leone, to serve as a major research center focused on the Ebola virus. The Unity of these countries helped keep the destruction caused by Ebola minimal, and with this unity the Ebola virus would have truly abolished the entire world.  

Many believe that the economic value of West Africa is minute however; the region of West Africa provides sixteen hundred thousand tons of palm ole, an important ingredient in most snack foods. In addition, the countries that make up West Africa are key suppliers of iron ore, providing the world with over nine billion tons of it. The country of Nigeria alone provides two and a half million barrels of oil a day, which is one third of the amount the United States uses in a day, meaning that if the Ebola virus had caused oil companies to leave Nigeria gas prices could have risen to over five dollars, causing a domino effect to other products. In continuation, imagine what would have happened if workers had fled Western Africa and brought the Ebola virus to a major economic country like the United States of America or China; not only would the virus spread rapidly due to the vast population, but production of supplies would decrease drastically raising the prices of most goods and causing an economic crisis worldwide. The United States is the most visited place in the world and if Ebola had begun to grow within the country, airline companies would lose a lot of money and the United States would gain hardly any money from tourism. With no discovered vaccine, the Ebola virus had the potential to traumatize the entire world rendering us powerless. 

The Ebola virus became the downfall of western Africa’s economy, causing thousands of deaths and developing minor economic damage worldwide. As the virus continues to diminish in the region of West Africa, the natives remain greatly affected; many have lost love ones or businesses and now have little to no money to survive, proving that Ebola has been one of the most devastating viruses to ever reach the shores of Africa.  
