Traditional Medicine in the Context of the Ebola Outbreak in Senegal

The current panic associated with the Ebola outbreak in western Africa, has left the world grappling with effective measures to contain and combat this deadly virus.  With documented cases in America and Spain, the confines of this disease have been broken, and its contagious nature has come to the forefront of American consciousness.

            In Michael Gerson’s talk, “Nature Out To Kill Us,” Gerson directly addressed this issue of the Ebola outbreak and what he termed, “the global health crisis.”  He rightfully argued that an American would be diagnosed with Ebola before this virus was contained, which has now come to be true.  He also stated that this disease could be contained in modern healthcare systems such as those in America.  By tracing all encounters the infected person had with other individuals, doctors can limit the scope the disease could spread by quarantining or monitoring all those thought to have come into contact with the virus.

            After spending time in both rural and urban Senegal (a country now effected by the Ebola outbreak), I began to question the idea of biomedical treatment in areas where other, more widely used, forms of healthcare existed.  Whereas in America, biomedical healthcare is a widely accepted form of healthcare, in Senegal there are three types of healthcare systems: 1) Qurantic: prayer and the imam (an Islamic leader) 2) Traditional: a spiritual tradition through local experts who use remedies, prayer, and rituals, and 3) Biomedical at hospitals.  Usually Quarantic and Traditional forms of treatment are used before Biomedical treatment is sought after.  In thinking about the Ebola outbreak, its highly contagious nature, and its now spread into Senegal (although only one reported case to date), I began to compare these facts to Gerson’s speech.  If Ebola continued to spread, he argued for more increased biomedical facilities, doctors, medicine, protective gear, etc.  But, purely in the context of Senegal, I believe that traditional medicine has an important role in the lives of the Senegalese and further, biomedical treatment is met with fear of the unknown and further negatively stigmatized.  This is not to say that no one trusts this type of westernized medical care, however.  I think biomedical treatment has not become as popular because the Senegalese have two other forms of healthcare that have proved to be effective through generations.  So in thinking of Ebola from purely what I gathered from research and interviews throughout Senegal, I questioned how you contain a deadly disease while still honoring cultural norms as related to healthcare, burial rites, etc.? Or is this even possible?  According to Gerson, other types of treatment besides those of biomedicine were not even mentioned in his talk.  But how do you change the cultural norm in order to combat a disease? Do you change a cultural norm in order to do this?  Gerson’s talk left me intrigued but confused, wondering how to honor these cultural traditions while combating disease.

Gerson, Michael. "Nature Out to Kill Us." Rhodes College, Memphis. 20 Sept. 2014. Speech.