Here’s some background information about Ebola, a virus with a high fatality rate that was first identified in Africa in 1976.
Facts: Ebola hemorrhagic fever is a disease caused by one of five different Ebola viruses. Four of the strains can cause severe illness in humans and animals. The fifth, Reston virus, has caused illness in some animals, but not in humans.
The first human outbreaks occurred in 1976, one in northern Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo) in Central Africa: and the other, in southern Sudan (now South Sudan). The virus is named after the Ebola River, where the virus was first recognized in 1976, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Humans can be infected by other humans if they come in contact with body fluids from an infected person or contaminated objects from infected persons. Humans can also be exposed to the virus, for example, by butchering infected animals.
While the exact reservoir of Ebola viruses is still unknown, researchers believe the most likely natural hosts are fruit bats.
Symptoms of Ebola typically include: weakness, fever, aches, diarrhea, vomiting and stomach pain. Additional experiences include rash, red eyes, chest pain, throat soreness, difficulty breathing or swallowing and bleeding (including internal).
Typically, symptoms appear 8-10 days after exposure to the virus, but the incubation period can span two to 21 days.
Unprotected health care workers are susceptible to infection because of their close contact with patients during treatment.
Deadly human Ebola outbreaks have been confirmed in the following countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Gabon, South Sudan, Ivory Coast, Uganda, Republic of the Congo (ROC), Guinea and Liberia.
According to the World Health Organization, “there is no specific treatment or vaccine,” and the fatality rate can be up to 90%. Patients are given supportive care, which includes providing fluids and electrolytes and food.
There are five subspecies of the Ebola virus: Zaire ebolavirus (EBOV), Bundibugyo ebolavirus (BDBV), Sudan ebolavirus (SUDV), Taï Forest ebolavirus (TAFV) and Reston ebolavirus (RESTV)
Ebola epidemic is ‘out of control’
The deadly Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa has hit “unprecedented” proportions, according to relief workers on the ground.
“The epidemic is out of control,” Dr. Bart Janssens, director of operations for Doctors Without Borders, said in statement.
There have been 567 cases and 350 deaths since the epidemic began in March, according to the latest World Health Organization figures.
Ebola virus outbreaks are usually confined to remote areas, making it easier to contain. But this outbreak is different; patients have been identified in 60 locations in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
Officials believe the wide footprint of this outbreak is partly because of the close proximity between the jungle where the virus was first identified and cities such as Conakry. The capital in Guinea has a population of 2 million and an international airport.
People are traveling without realizing they’re carrying the deadly virus. It can take between two and 21 days for someone to feel sick after they’ve been exposed.
Inside an Ebola isolation ward in Guinea Ebola is a violent killer. The symptoms, at first, mimic the flu: headache, fever, tiredness. What comes next sounds like something out of a horror movie: significant diarrhea and vomiting, while the virus shuts off the blood’s ability to clot.
As a result, patients often suffer internal and external hemorrhaging. Many die in an average of 10 days.
“We have reached our limits,” Janssens said.
Doctors Without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières, is the only aid organization treating people affected by the virus. Since March, they have sent more than 300 staff members and 40 tons of equipment and supplies to the region to help fight the epidemic.
Still, they warn, it’s not enough.
“Despite the human resources and equipment deployed by MSF in the three affected countries, we are no longer able to send teams to the new outbreak sites.”
The good news is that Ebola isn’t as easily spread as one may think. A patient isn’t contagious — meaning they can’t spread the virus to other people — until they are already showing symptoms.
Health officials have urged residents to alert MSF or local physicians at the first sign of flu-like symptoms. While there is no cure or vaccine to treat Ebola, MSF has proved it doesn’t have to be a death sentence if it’s treated early.
Inside isolation treatment areas, doctors focus on keeping the patients hydrated with IV drips and other liquid nutrients. It’s working. Ebola typically kills 90% of patients. This outbreak, the death rate has dropped to roughly 60%.
MSF says they’ll continue to isolate and treat Ebola patients in West Africa with the resources they have available but urge for a “massive deployment” by regional governments and aid agencies to help stop the epidemic.
World Health Organization officials say they’re planning high-level meeting for the Minister of Health in the subregion July 2 and 3 to discuss the deployment of additional resources and experts to the area.
The outbreak will be considered contained after 42 days with no new Ebola cases — that’s twice the incubation period.
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