The 2014 ebola outbreak in West Africa was a major outbreak that exposed our global strengths and weaknesses in terms of managing and stopping a major outbreak. (For more info on the 2014 ebola outbreak visit this CDC site.) We discussed major outbreaks as part of our One Book programming last year when we studied Max Brooks’ book World War Z.
The video below from Bill Gates’ TED talk outlines some of the problems we face as we prepare for the next major outbreak.
The next outbreak? We’re not ready.
Description from site: In 2014, the world avoided a global outbreak of Ebola, thanks to thousands of selfless health workers — plus, frankly, some very good luck. In hindsight, we know what we should have done better. So, now’s the time, Bill Gates suggests, to put all our good ideas into practice, from scenario planning to vaccine research to health worker training. As he says, “There’s no need to panic … but we need to get going.”