Instructions: COMPLETE ALL QUESTIONS AND MARGIN NOTES using the CLOSE reading strategies practiced in class. This requires reading of the article three times. Step 1: Skim the article using these symbols as you read: (+) agree, (-) disagree, (*) important, (!) surprising, (?) wondering Step 2: Number the paragraphs. Read the article carefully and make notes in the margin. Notes should include: o Comments that show that you understand the article. (A summary or statement of the main idea of important sections may serve this purpose.) o Questions you have that show what you are wondering about as you read. o Notes that identify facts and opinions. o Observations about how the writer s techniques (organization, word choice, perspective, support) and choices affect the article. o Text structure (is it compare/contrast, main ideas and details, chronological order, cause/effect, or problem solution) PICK FROM THESE CHOICES Step 3: A final quick read noting anything you may have missed during the first two reads. Your margin notes are part of your score for this assessment. Answer the questions carefully in complete sentences unless otherwise instructed. Student Class Period Past Ebola outbreaks have consistently burned out in relatively isolated and rural areas in Central Africa. Sick patients did not come into contact with many people. Without new patients to infect, the virus eventually had nowhere to go. The current outbreak in West Africa, however, is taking place where several countries borders meet. This has helped this outbreak boom into a disease that has a global reach. Notes on my thoughts, reactions and questions as I read: What will it take to quash the ongoing Ebola outbreak? New studies suggest at least 50 percent and perhaps 70 percent of all contagious Ebola patients in West Africa would need to be isolated and kept from infecting others. Those figures come from two new mathematical forecasts. One is by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), while another was published by Eurosurveillance, a magazine about diseases. Containing The Outbreak If that level of containment is not reached, the outbreak could still be reduced but it won't be wiped out. It may continue to spread, perhaps for years. Right now every sick patient with Ebola during this outbreak typically makes about two more people ill. The World Health Organization (WHO) tally suggests there are 7,178 cases of Ebola and 3,338 deaths so far. Forecasts from the WHO and the CDC suggest that the death toll could soon climb to the tens of thousands. That's unless efforts to contain the outbreak are substantially increased. The structure of this text is: (pick from the choices listed) Some facts and opinions from this story are (label facts with F and opinions
In a worst-case scenario the CDC projected that by mid-january, Sierra Leone and Liberia alone could have up to 1.4 million cases. But that figure could be avoided. The massive increase in aid provided by international forces could reduce that number. The virus will not be contained, though, unless half of contagious patients are isolated. Smaller efforts will buy communities some time to scale-up their hospitals, though. They will also buy them time to, perhaps, develop a vaccine. Notes on my thoughts, reactions and questions as I read: Time Is Of The Essence Yet the longer the response takes, the higher the chance that areas that are now Ebola-free could flare up again. This is also about how long it takes to stop the disease, says Alessandro Vespignani, a professor. He has been working on Ebola forecasting at Northeastern University. If it s a more minimal response and it takes nine months, that means more deaths, many more hiccups along the way and the cases in the region could spin out of control, he said. The incubation period for the disease can last from two to 21 days. Only then do people develop symptoms and become contagious. And it s clear that the disease can be contained. Senegal and Nigeria appear to have stopped the spread of Ebola. A summary of this article is: But other factors could worsen the threat if the disease is not completely contained soon. No one has studied how long people who recover from Ebola stay immune. It's possible that recovered patients may get ill again next year. It s undeniable that Ebola is a scary virus. But it is not as readily passed between people as some other viruses. Calculations And Conclusions The 1918 Spanish flu that killed more than 30 million people worldwide reportedly had a reproductive rate between two and five. Each ill person infected between two and five people, says Gerardo Chowell, a mathematical epidemiologist at Arizona State University. How many were infected depended on the location and environment. Chowell produced the first Ebola forecasts in 2004. He calculated past Ebola reproductive rates from outbreaks in Central Africa. He concluded those outbreaks led to an average of 1.3 to 1.8 secondary cases. This article relates to me, someone I know, or the world I live in BECAUSE: In September, Chowell published his calculations in Eurosurveillance. They suggest the reproductive rate has not changed much between those historical cases and this outbreak in West Africa. Chowell's estimate that 50 percent of contagious patients need to be isolated is lower than the CDC's estimate. In its findings, the CDC reported that perhaps 70 percent of patients would need to be placed in Ebola treatment centers or otherwise isolated to alter the course of the outbreak.the second case of Ebola diagnosed in the U.S. recently only underscores the global threat of the virus and how vital it is to contain it.
Comprehension questions answers may be in phrases. 1. What is the name of the agencies that have done mathematical forecasts concerning the Ebola outbreak? 2. What do these mathematical forecasts say? 3. For every person that is sick with Ebola, how many people do they potentially make ill? 4. According to the article, what is the percentage of Ebola patients in West Africa that must be isolated to stop the spread of the disease? 5. According to the article, what is the incubation period for the Ebola virus? 2. Answer each question in one or more complete sentences. According to the article, at the present time, how many cases of Ebola are there? According to the CDC and the WHO, what can significantly stop the spread of the Ebola virus? Citing from the text, how long do people who have recovered from the Ebola virus remain immune?
3. Part 1: Citing directly from the text, discuss some ways in which aid from international forces can help stop the spread of the Ebola virus on a smaller scale. Part 2: Citing from the text, discuss what must happen before any type of aid or relief effort will be successful. 4. In the text, researchers state that 50-70 percent of Ebola cases must be isolated for the course of the outbreak to be altered. Just recently in the news, an individual identified with having been exposed to Ebola was quarantined in her home, and they even quarantined her dog because it had been near her. Do you think this level of isolation is appropriate or inappropriate? Justify your reasoning.