The UN Security Council will hold an emergency session on Ebola today, at the request of the United States. The disease is spreading quickly in West Africa and, with global air travel, could quickly hop new borders. The health infrastructure of West Africa is weak, with limited resources and trained personnel. Prevention is the goal for a virus with no approved vaccine or therapeutic. Funding is scarce, even for premier researchers with the World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control. Nations with advanced health systems could take the lead by imposing a small tax on international air tickets, argues Paula Kavathas, professor of laboratory medicine and of immunobiology with the Yale School of Medicine. A $3 tax could raise $500 million per year, funding research and development for vaccines, therapeutics or diagnostics for Ebola and other emerging infectious diseases. Infectious diseases leave behind a trail of death and economic harm, and a massive, well-funded response is in the interest of all. As Kavathas concludes, Ebola won’t be the last epidemic. – YaleGlobal
http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/how-fund-ebola-fight
