The Ebola

Epidemic in
West Africa
What happens in our
school community
when someone
catches a cold or
another virus?
 What happens in our school community when
someone catches a cold or another virus?

• In groups of 3 or 4, suggest some actions that can be taken to prevent the spread of illness
at school.
• What can the sick student do?
• What can the school do?
 What characteristics of the disease helped
create the Ebola epidemic in West Africa?

• Read Student Book pages 5-7

• Using BLM I.2 Ebola Fact Sheet, review the points on Ebola and circle the 3 facts that you
think best explain why Ebola became an epidemic in West Africa.
• Record points that you feel support your choices in the space provided on the worksheet.
 What conditions within Liberia helped to turn
the Ebola outbreak into an epidemic?

• Use Student Book page 5 to complete BLM I.3 Poverty as a Cause of the Ebola Epidemic
• Consider poverty with the nation, community and the family
 Why should Canadians care if an epidemic
occurs somewhere else in the world?

• How did Canada respond to the Ebola outbreak?

• Was this an effective response?
 Let’s look at the Map – Figure I.3

• In partners:
• What is the title?
• What do the colours tell us?
• What symbols appear on the map?
• What information do the labels provide?
• What additional information is given in the caption?
• Identify patterns in the map.
• In what ways could people fighting the disease use this information?
• In what ways could these patterns be used in the future to prevent further outbreaks?
Analyzing Data

• Population (in 2014):

• Guinea: 11 474 000
• Liberia: 4 092 000
• Sierra Leone: 5 744 000
• Canada: 34 835 000
• How might we use these figures to help
us understand more about the spread of
Ebola in West Africa?
• How might healthcare workers use this
data in efforts to control the outbreak?
 Isolation

• Isolation is a strategy that can be used to separate potentially sick people from people without the disease.
• Isolating an entire country would have a devastating impact on its economy, making it unable to feed its people
and fight the disease.
• List the pros and cons of countries closing borders to people from countries where Ebola was found.
Closing borders is most effective way to control
the spread of disease.

• Do you:
• Agree
• Somewhat Agree
• Somewhat Disagree
• Disagree

• Be prepared to explain your opinion

 Homework

• Complete Explore the Issue questions pg 7 #1-5