Experts are at a loss: why did this contagion, which had been waiting for its hour for years, perhaps centuries, in the body of a wild animal or in a swampy bush, suddenly attack people? There is no answer. So far, doctors can only recognize Ebola in the human body – first it causes fever, vomiting, muscle pain, diarrhea, then bleeding from the mouth, eyes, and ears, and finally, in just a few days, kills a person.
Ebola is flesh of the flesh of tropical Africa with its wars, refugees, hunger, wild rituals, and indestructible unsanitary conditions. On the threshold of the third millennium, the continent seems to have opened Pandora's box. Since the mid-1970s, Africa has 'given' the world 30 new infections, including AIDS, Ebola, and hepatitis C. And at the same time, it has 'revived' old ones, seemingly almost conquered by humans – smallpox, malaria, cholera. In the era of globalization, it is impossible to isolate an infection: the 'sick continent' threatens to infect the whole world.
One common explanation for this infectious explosion is ecological: it is supposedly due to global warming, which brings floods and then droughts to Africa. Prolonged tropical downpours create countless 'still waters' teeming with viruses and hordes of malarial mosquitoes. Droughts, in turn, cause fires and respiratory diseases.
The explanation of the epidemiological explosion by climate change does not seem particularly convincing. The nature of the continent, which until recently protected its inhabitants from the spread of new infections, has also suffered at human hands. Large animals have been destroyed by poachers; local hunters, in search of sustenance, content themselves with forest rats, porcupines, and occasionally monkeys. It is hard to say which link's disappearance disrupted the balance in the relationship between humans and nature – so many links have fallen out that they cannot be counted.
At the same time, the inhabitants of the continent deny theories of the African origin of viruses, seeing them as a manifestation of discrimination. In the countries most affected by AIDS – Zimbabwe (26% infected), Zambia (20%), or Botswana (25%) – you will certainly be told that HIV first appeared in Latin America among gays or was invented by Americans as a biological weapon. At the same time, Africans are completely unconcerned that HIV in Africa is present in a wide variety of mutational forms – a clear sign that this is indeed the virus's home. Research by Western scientists is also not trusted here, being considered hidden racism.
The medical aspect of the 'clash of civilizations' became obvious as early as the first AIDS conference in 1985, where only three African scientists were present. They silently followed the discussion of the theory of HIV infection through monkey meat. The only explanation they offered was that this is as traditional a dish for Africans as oysters for the French, sushi for the Japanese, or dogs for Koreans. They have been eating them for centuries, but AIDS appeared with the arrival of whites.
These sentiments have long since moved into high offices. Thus, South African President Thabo Mbeki for a long time outright denied the existence of AIDS in his country, where over 4 million are infected. Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi called theories of the African origin of AIDS a 'campaign of racial hatred.' And Namibian President Sam Nujoma is convinced that the AIDS epidemic is a 'biological war.'
Perhaps the most accurate diagnosis belongs to sociologists. They were the first to note that the surge of epidemics followed shortly after most African countries gained independence. In the early 1970s, the rural population flooded into cities. As they inherited the colonial legacy – roads, urban lifestyle, European languages, and other 'fruits of enlightenment' – the new authorities, followed by the population, tore up millennia-old ties with the tribe, clan, and nature. There was nothing to replace them – the newborn megacities lacked basic health and nutrition controls; the lifting of traditional taboos and freedom of morals turned them into breeding grounds for diseases.
The geography of the AIDS epidemic speaks eloquently of this. In the mid-1980s, it was established that HIV initially spread along highways in Africa – drivers used the services of prostitutes: for most African women, this is the only way to earn a living.
Another epidemiological factor was the endless civil wars in Rwanda, Uganda, Congo, and Sierra Leone, which drove millions of people from shantytowns back to villages or refugee camps, where they brought all the 'urban ailments.' Only the Red Cross or Doctors Without Borders thought about the need for prevention in areas untouched by the 'cultural revolution.'
For a time, they managed to localize epidemics, but they were unable to instill notions of sanitary norms in millions of Africans. For example, during the current Ebola epidemic in Uganda, it turned out that the most common route of virus transmission was funerals. In these parts, since time immemorial, the entire village would bury a person – fellow villagers would wash the deceased, then dip their hands in that water and shake each other's hands as a sign of solidarity. Had doctors not stopped this practice, Ebola would have destroyed the entire country.
The same can be said about the panic fear of vaccination – in some countries, for example, the polio vaccine was declared a source of HIV infection. As a result, thousands of families deprived their children of necessary vaccinations.
A modern healthcare system is an unattainable dream for Africa. While the United States spends an average of $2,300 per person per year on health, Côte d'Ivoire, for example, spends $25, Uganda $9, and Ethiopia only $3. Incidentally, the World Health Organization considers the critical minimum to be $60 per person.
In these conditions, the main fighters against epidemics on the continent are either sects like the 'Restoration of the Ten Commandments' church, which promise deliverance from ailments through self-immolation, or fundamentalists, most often Islamic, who promise to cure everyone with sharia, that is, strict regulation of morals. In short, Africa has no time for medicine.