Johns Hopkins Hosts Ebola Symposium
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The Ebola outbreak in West Africa and in Dallas was the focus of a special symposium at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Tuesday morning.
Derek Valcourt explains medical experts spent the morning talking about prevention strategies and the world's efforts to combat the deadly virus.
Some of those experts are painting a grim and scary picture of how Ebola can be expected to play out in those West African countries---and that's a heartbreaking reality for people right here in Maryland with relatives in that part of the world.
"If West Africa was a can of gas waiting for a match to hit it, the rest of Central Africa is a tanker truck waiting for a match to hit it," said Dr. Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert.
It was a packed house full of medical experts at a Johns Hopkins Ebola symposium Tuesday morning. The one thing everyone agrees on is just how dire the situation is now---and how much worse it's going to get.
"There's just going to be lots and lots and lots of cases and lots and lots and lots of deaths and we don't know what that number is going to be," Osterholm said.
For Liberian Americans, the discussion here hits close to home.
"Altogether, there are 12 members of my family that passed away," said Bobby Gborgar Joe.
Baltimore resident Bobby Joe says in his last three months, he's lost sisters, brothers, nephews and nieces back in Liberia to Ebola and the heartbreak has taken a toll.
"I'm under the guidance of a psychiatry because I need to get my mind back together," he said.
"It has been devastating," said Ezax Smith, Liberian Association of Maryland.
Smith is the head of an organization representing as many as 8,000 Liberian Americans living right here in Maryland. They continue raising funds to send medical supplies to their native country but even the experts agree much more needs to be done.
"We're sensing that people were seeing it as an African situation but this is an epidemic that has the propensity to become a global epidemic," Smith said.
One of the hardest parts for Bobby Joe is not knowing if Ebola has already killed more of his family.
"I have not been able to get any news because nobody visits anybody so you don't really know who's dead and who's not dead," he said.
Experts at the symposium say they remain hopeful that a vaccine will be developed to treat the virus but at least one called the government's response to the crisis in Africa "woefully inadequate."
The Liberian Association of Maryland says it will continue hosting fundraisers to collect much needed medical supplies to send to Liberia including an event on November 2 in Randallstown.
You can also follow the discussion on Twitter @JohnsHopkinsSPH #EbolaForum.
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