Strategy, timing, and collaboration: The academic response to Ebola

Abstract

In March 2014, a new wave of Ebola emerged in West Africa, leading to a full outbreak over the next several months. The outreach of American health care providers, federal government support, and investigation into managing the spread of the disease as well as treating those infected intensified exponentially. Seven months later, the first case presented in the United States. Fear and uncertainty gripped the public as well as the health care provider community. How was the disease transmitted? What are the signs and symptoms? Who should be quarantined? What should be done to protect health care professionals on the front lines of patient care? These questions were raised consistently in the media as vested stakeholders moved quickly to respond.