{"id":9489,"date":"2023-07-13T08:00:53","date_gmt":"2023-07-13T08:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.vormia.com\/amcclinic\/?p=9489"},"modified":"2023-08-03T08:04:58","modified_gmt":"2023-08-03T08:04:58","slug":"ebola","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.vormia.com\/amcclinic\/2023\/07\/13\/ebola\/","title":{"rendered":"Ebola"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Ebola virus disease<\/strong>\u00a0(EVD<\/strong>), or simply\u00a0Ebola<\/strong>, is a\u00a0viral haemorrhagic fever<\/a>\u00a0of humans and other\u00a0primates<\/a>\u00a0caused by\u00a0ebolaviruses<\/a>.[1]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Signs and symptoms typically start between two days and three weeks after contracting the virus with a\u00a0fever<\/a>,\u00a0sore throat<\/a>,\u00a0muscular pain<\/a>, and\u00a0headaches<\/a>.[1]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Vomiting<\/a>,\u00a0diarrhoea<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0rash<\/a>\u00a0usually follow, along with decreased function of the\u00a0liver<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0kidneys<\/a>.[1]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0At this time, some people begin to\u00a0bleed<\/a>\u00a0both\u00a0internally<\/a>\u00a0and externally.[1]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0The disease has a high risk of death, killing 25% to 90% of those infected, with an average of about 50%.[1]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0This is often due to\u00a0low blood pressure from fluid loss<\/a>, and typically follows six to 16 days after symptoms appear.[2]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

The virus spreads through direct contact with\u00a0body fluids<\/a>, such as\u00a0blood<\/a>\u00a0from infected humans or other animals.[1]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Spread may also occur from contact with items recently contaminated with bodily fluids.[1]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Spread of the disease through the air between\u00a0primates<\/a>, including humans, has not been documented in either laboratory or natural conditions.[3]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Semen<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0breast milk<\/a>\u00a0of a person after recovery from EVD may carry the virus for several weeks to months.[1]<\/a><\/sup>[4]<\/a><\/sup>[5]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Fruit bats<\/a>\u00a0are believed to be the normal\u00a0carrier in nature<\/a>, able to spread the virus without being affected by it.[1]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Other diseases such as\u00a0malaria<\/a>,\u00a0cholera<\/a>,\u00a0typhoid fever<\/a>,\u00a0meningitis<\/a>\u00a0and other viral haemorrhagic fevers may resemble EVD.[1]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Blood samples are tested for viral\u00a0RNA<\/a>, viral\u00a0antibodies<\/a>\u00a0or for the virus itself to confirm the diagnosis.[1]<\/a><\/sup>[6]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

Control of outbreaks requires coordinated medical services and community engagement.[1]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0This includes rapid detection,\u00a0contact tracing<\/a>\u00a0of those who have been exposed, quick access to laboratory services, care for those infected, and proper disposal of the dead through\u00a0cremation<\/a>\u00a0or burial.[1]<\/a><\/sup>[7]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Samples of body fluids and tissues from people with the disease should be handled with special caution.[1]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Prevention includes limiting the spread of disease from infected animals to humans by handling potentially infected\u00a0bushmeat<\/a>\u00a0only while wearing protective clothing, and by thoroughly cooking bushmeat before eating it.[1]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0It also includes wearing proper protective clothing and\u00a0washing hands<\/a>\u00a0when around a person with the disease.[1]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0An\u00a0Ebola vaccine<\/a>\u00a0was approved in the United States in December 2019.[8]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0While there is no approved treatment for Ebola as of 2019,[9]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0two treatments (REGN-EB3<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0mAb114<\/a>) are associated with improved outcomes.[10]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Supportive efforts also improve outcomes.[1]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0This includes either\u00a0oral rehydration therapy<\/a>\u00a0(drinking slightly sweetened and salty water) or giving\u00a0intravenous fluids<\/a>\u00a0as well as treating symptoms.[1]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

The disease was first identified in 1976, in two simultaneous outbreaks: one in\u00a0Nzara<\/a>\u00a0(a town in\u00a0South Sudan<\/a>) and the other in\u00a0Yambuku<\/a>\u00a0(Democratic Republic of the Congo<\/a>), a village near the\u00a0Ebola River<\/a>\u00a0from which the disease takes its name.[1]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0EVD outbreaks<\/a>\u00a0occur intermittently in tropical regions of\u00a0sub-Saharan Africa<\/a>.[1]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Between 1976 and 2013, the\u00a0World Health Organization<\/a>\u00a0reports 24 outbreaks involving\u00a02,387 cases with 1,590 deaths<\/a>.[1]<\/a><\/sup>[11]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0The largest outbreak to date was the\u00a0epidemic in West Africa<\/a>, which occurred from December 2013 to January 2016, with 28,646 cases and 11,323 deaths.[12]<\/a><\/sup>[13]<\/a><\/sup>[14]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0It was declared no longer an emergency on 29 March 2016.[15]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Other outbreaks in Africa began in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in May 2017,[16]<\/a><\/sup>[17]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0and 2018.[18]<\/a><\/sup>[19]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0In July 2019, the World Health Organization declared the Congo Ebola outbreak a\u00a0world health emergency<\/a>.[20]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t[\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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