The Ebola virus disease outbreak in Africa – implications for Victoria

Ebolavirus disease (Ebola) is an infectious and severe illness that is marked by fever and severe internal bleeding. The virus spreads through direct contact with contaminated bodily fluids and can be transmitted from animals to people.

The outbreak of Ebola in West Africa is larger and more serious than any previous outbreak and has developed into a humanitarian crisis, with 20,206 cases acquired in West Africa as of 31 December 2014 and almost 8,000 deaths. The reported number of deaths is likely to be an underestimate of the true number of cases that are fatal, due to the delay between onset and outcome, and a lack of follow-up of the outcome.

Dr Rosemary Lester is the Chief Health Officer at the Department of Health, Victoria. She is a medical graduate of the University of Melbourne, has a Master of Public Health from Monash University and a Master of Science (Epidemiology) from the University of California Los Angeles. She is a Fellow of the Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine, and has worked in the Department since 1989.

Rosemary has worked predominantly in Immunisation and Communicable Disease Prevention and Control. She is Victoria’s representative on the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee, and a member of the National Health and Medical Research Council and was awarded the Public Service Medal in the Australia Day Honours in January 2014.