Ebola virus

Ebola virus

Ebola is known to be an extremely deadly virus that causes a disease that is highly contagious and characterized by sudden fevers. Also, a person suffering from the disease experiences a lot of bleeding that is observed within and outside the body. According to scientists, the virus attacks all the tissues and organs in the human body, which results in multiple organ failure. On average, only one or less than five out of ten people who suffer from Ebola survive. The first case of the virus was isolated in Sudan, and many African countries have been affected by the deadly disease. A few cases have been reported in Europe and America.

Transmission

In light of research conducted by scientists, the Ebola virus is believed to exist in the blood and watery fluids of certain animals, but the infection does not affect them in any way. The animals most commonly linked to Ebola are a specific strain of monkeys or fruit bats. The transmission occurs when humans come into contact with fluids discharged by the carrier animals. The lethal Ebola virus cannot be communicated through the air, but only liquids can transmit the virus such as blood mucus, semen, and vomit. When a healthy person comes into contact with the fluid from an infected person, then they suffer an attack almost immediately.

Prevalence in America

In the history of Ebola, only eleven cases of the pandemic have been reported in the united states, with the first case being reported in September 2014. Out of the eleven reported cases in America, nine of the victims contracted the virus outside the USA and traveled into the country as medical personnel or as regular passengers. Two people among the nine died from the illness, and those two who contracted Ebola while in America were attending to a patient. None the less the nurses recovered from the disease.

The centers for disease control and prevention announced an Ebola victim identified as Duncan had been positively diagnosed with the virus while in Texas. Even though the nurses attended to Duncan, his condition deteriorated and later succumbed on 8 October 2014. In the same year, three victims were diagnosed with the virus, two of whom were nurses attending to Duncan. The other man had returned to America from Guinea, where he was working in a west African country. Hundreds of people were tested and put under observation for signs of the disease, but no further cases were reported.

Prevalence in the rest of the world

Ebola virus has existed for 40 years since it was first discovered near the Ebola river, currently known as the Congo. The virus has mutated sporadically from its discovery while infecting may people and causing havoc whenever it attacks. Many African countries have fallen victim to the fatal consequences of the disease. In west Africa, close to 28,616 people have been infected by the virus, with 11,310 deaths being documented in Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone. Reports have indicated that 15 deaths out of 36 cases have been reported form infections outside these three countries.

Other outbreaks in Africa were reported in May 2017 and 2018 in Congo, and the world health organization decided to declare the Congo Ebola pandemic a world health emergency in 2019. The poor infrastructure and state of the medical facility in West Africa have prompted the disease to spread faster and cause more causalities in its path. However, Liberia was declared Ebola-free in 2016 January, and no further infection cases have been reported. Guinea was also announced free from Ebola in 2016 after more than 11,325 people succumbed to the virus.

Signs and symptoms

The virus has an incubation period of 2-20 days where an infected person cannot be able to spread the virus if they have not shown signs of the infection. The first symptoms include fever, fatigue, a severe sore throat, and headaches. Later, vomiting, internal and external bleeding, as well as diarrhea develops, and the person’s kidneys appear to be impaired. The symptoms are often confused with those of other diseases such as malaria or typhoid, but as time goes by, the condition worsens, and the bleeding is more intense both inside and outside the body.

Prevention

The best way to prevent Ebola is through a vaccine that was developed and tested, which proved it to be beneficial. Many candidates of the Ebola vaccine were established by 2014, but the United States for food and drug administration had not approved their use on humans. However, there is no known cure for the disease, but excellent care from medical practitioners can aid a patient in recovery since the victims require a lot of fluids to replace the ones they have rapidly lost.

Management practices and follow-up care

Healthcare professionals that come into contact with the patients should be extremely cautious when handling the victims regardless of their previous diagnosis. The basic hygiene should be observed as well as respiratory health which includes the use of protective gear. Individuals who have recovered from the delay virus require extensive support from the psychological and mental challenges they may face after the infection. Dedicated programs to serve the survivors of the disease are in place, and sexual partners of Ebola survivors should receive counseling as part of the follow-up care. The WHO is making recommendable steps in alleviating the effects of the virus.