Ebola
Ebola is a severe hemorrhagic virus with a very high mortality rate. There have been several outbreaks of the disease in Africa since it was first discovered in 1976. By far the worst of these outbreaks is now underway in West Africa, primarily in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. There are now estimated to be 15,000 cases worldwide; between a one third and one half of the infected patients have died of the disease. A few isolated cases have been diagnosed on other continents, including in the United States. To date, two patients have died of Ebola on American soil. For unknown reasons, some people appear to be immune to the virus.
Origins of Ebola
It is believed that fruit bats are the carriers of Ebola, spreading the disease to both gorillas and humans. It is surmised that apes and humans contract the virus by eating the bats themselves or by eating food, or touching surfaces, contaminated with the saliva, urine or feces of the carrier bats.
Transmission of Ebola
Ebola is only transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids, including sweat. It is not airborne like influenza or some other contagious diseases. This limits the probability that individuals who share space with Ebola patients will contract the illness. Physical intimacy or healthcare functions are the most likely means of transmission. If the infected patient's saliva, blood, vomit, urine or feces make their way to another person's eyes, nose, mouth, or skin injury, the disease can spread.
The virus can also survive on dry surfaces for a few hours. If the virus is contained in bodily fluid, its indirect transmission is possible for a few days. Careful cleaning with bleach, however, destroys the virus.
Risk Factors for Contracting Ebola
People are at risk of contracting the Ebola virus if they are in contact with an infected bat of with the bodily fluids of an infected person. The latter is most likely to occur during:
- Care for a sick family member
- Cleaning up after an infected person
- Preparing an infected body for burial
- Tending a patient as a healthcare professional
In fact, most of the people outside of Africa who have been infected with Ebola have been healthcare workers. In West Africa, so many healthcare workers have been infected and have died of the virus that many clinics have been forced to close. This is largely because the healthcare infrastructure in the areas most badly affected is almost non-existent. At many sites, supplies like latex gloves and bleach are unavailable.
The risk to healthcare workers in the United States is much lower than in Africa since the medical facilities in this country are much more evolved, in terms of prevention methods, medical supplies and sanitation. The risk to the general public in the United States is almost nil at this time.
Symptoms of Ebola
Typically, symptoms of Ebola appear 8 to 21 days after exposure. It first presents with flulike symptoms, including headache, fever, body aches, vomiting and diarrhea. As the disease progresses, many patients with Ebola develop more severe, hemorrhagic symptoms.
Bleeding takes place in many parts of the body, including the mouth and under the skin. Patients may vomit blood or produce urine that is bloody. The observable bleeding is not, however, the cause of death. If the patient succumbs to the illness, it is usually the result of leakage from deep blood vessels. This leakage drastically lowers the patient's blood pressure, resulting in the failure of vital organs.
Containment of Ebola
The containment of Ebola is an urgent goal of medical professionals and governments worldwide. Provisions are being made to arrest the spread of this potentially deadly disease and to effectively treat infected patients. Inroads have been made into prospective treatment options and accelerated research continues. The CDC has now raised its emergency response to Level 1, its highest, and thousands of U.S. troops as well as large quantities of medical supplies from many countries, have been sent to West Africa to build medical facilities and train healthcare personnel.
Patients with the virus in the United States are being isolated and those suspected of having Ebola are being carefully monitored and often quarantined. The United States government and many other governments worldwide are training airport personnel to check travelers arriving from Africa. At a great many airports, travelers from the affected areas of Africa are having their temperatures checked at points of departure and entry and being questioned to ascertain whether they are ill or have had contact with any infected patients.
Following a few cases in the United States of American medical personnel who have contracted Ebola while tending infected patients, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut have imposed a mandatory 21-day quarantine in medical facilities for healthcare workers returning from West Africa. The CDC, however, is still limiting federal prevention measures to voluntary home quarantine for those at highest risk and daily monitoring of medical workers returning from the affected region.
Treatment of Ebola
At present there is no treatment that precisely targets the Ebola virus. Supportive treatment of infected patients is much more readily available in developed countries than in West Africa where the disease is most rampant. These remedies, designed to keep patients alive until the virus runs its course, include:
- Intravenous hydration
- Maintaining electrolyte balance
- Providing oxygen when necessary
- Replacing blood lost through hemorrhage
- Administering antibiotics to combat secondary infections
Experimental therapies to treat Ebola have been tried with some success, including infusing infected patients with plasma from patients who have recovered from Ebola. Such plasma contains antibodies that help to fight the virus. A medication known as ZMapp has been tested on monkeys and has effectively assisted in the recovery of a few patients. Other medications being considered for use in treating Ebola are Brincidofovir, an antiviral drug and TKM-Ebola injection that works by blocking genes that help the Ebola virus reproduce.
Several vaccines to prevent Ebola have been, or are being, developed. One has been effective in immunizing monkeys against the disease and has now been used in clinical trials on humans. This new Ebola vaccine was administered to 20 individuals between the ages of 18 and 50. Half of these volunteers were given a higher dose than the other half. All 20 developed antibodies against the disease. Those who received the higher dose developed stronger antibodies. It remains to be seen how effective these antibodies are in preventing Ebola, how long an inoculation may be effective, and whether or not any side effects will show up at time passes. For the moment, though, there is elevated hope that scientists are on the right track in terms of combatting this deadly disease.