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| Ebola Symptoms |
Health care is very important,
because there are many danger viruses. Ebola Virus disease (EVD) is a life
threatening and contagious disease which is contracted by human beings as well
as primates. It is a hemorrhagic fever; caused by ebolaviruses also known as
"filoviruses" (they are from the virus family "filivoridae").
There are five viruses that are included in ebolaviruses, four of which infect
human beings while the fifth infects other animals.
Two simultaneous outbreaks in
1976 marked the first appearance of this disease. One of those outbreaks was in
Sudan, while the Democratic Republic of Congo was the other country to be
affected. The first case that appeared in the Democratic Republic of Congo was
near the Ebola River, and so the disease got named after this river.
The viruses that cause Ebola are
initially transmitted to human beings by contact with an infected animal (the
virus mostly affects fruit bats, monkeys and apes) after which the disease
spreads from one individual to the other. Physical contact as well as exposure
to the bodily fluids of an infected person can cause the disease to spread.
After eight to ten days of being
infected by the virus some early signs and symptoms that may indicate the onset
of the disease are fever, severe headache, muscular pain, chills, exhaustion
and weakness. These symptoms are likely to become more pronounced over time.
Other indicators which help diagnose Ebola are red and inflamed eyes (eyes may
even bleed), raised rash, chest pain and cough, stomach aches, diarrhea, nausea
and vomiting, noticeable weight loss, and internal bleeding.
Since these symptoms are pretty
similar to those of typhoid and malaria, it is not easy for a medical
practitioner to diagnose EVD. Once a doctor is of the opinion that a patient
has contracted this virus, two blood tests can confirm if the individual is
infected or not, these are known as Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)
and Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
Medical specialists have thus far
been unable to develop any vaccine or anti-viral drug for this fatal disease,
but the World Health Organization is actively seeking a cure. In the mean time,
healthcare providers are using some basic intervention methods in an attempt to
save the lives of infected individuals. These include injecting intravenous
fluids (IV), providing body salts (balancing electrolytes), ensuring constant
oxygen supply and keeping blood pressure normal as well as stable. Immediate
treatment should be given if the patient develops any other infections.
Preventive methods that can limit
the disease from spreading are to isolate those who are infected, and ensure
that medical care is given in a private ward so as keep other patients from
contracting Ebola. Furthermore healthcare specialists should be very careful
while disposing syringes and needles. They should wear gloves and face masks,
and they should make sure that they themselves are not at risk by avoiding
direct contact with the bodily fluids (e.g. blood) of an Ebola patient.
Furthermore, the disease is also known to spread even after the death of the
infected individual, so family and friends who are mourning the death of a
loved one who had Ebola should avoid physical contact with the deceased,
particularly his/her bodily fluids.
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