Ebola, first
appeared in 1976 also known as Ebola virus disease (EVD) and Ebola hemorrhagic
fever (EHF), is a viral hemorrhagic fever in humans and other primates, caused
by Ebola viruses.
Symptoms typically start anywhere between
two days and three weeks
after becoming infected
with the virus.
The disease kills between 25% and 90% of those infected about
50% on average.
Death is often due to shock from fluid loss, and typically occurs between six and 16 days after the first symptoms appear.
Fruit bats are
believed to be the normal carrier in nature; they are able to spread the virus
without being affected by it.
Control of
outbreaks requires community engagement, including rapid detection, contact
tracing of those exposed, care for those infected, and proper disposal of the
dead through cremation or burial. After a person recovers from Ebola, their
semen or breast milk may continue to carry the virus for anywhere between
several weeks to several months.
Fruit bats are believed to be the
normal carrier in nature; they are able to spread the virus without being
affected by it.
As the virus
spreads through the body, it damages the immune system and organs. Ultimately,
it causes levels of blood-clotting cells to drop. This leads to severe, uncontrollable
bleeding.
The disease was known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever but is now referred to as Ebola virus.
HOW DO YOU GET
EBOLA
Ebola isn’t as contagious as more common viruses like colds, influenza, or measles.
It spreads to people by contact
with the skin, or body fluids of an infected
animal, like a monkey,
chimp, or fruit bat.
Then it moves from person to person the same way.
Those who care for a sick person or bury someone
who has died from the disease often get it. Other ways to get Ebola include touching
contaminated or surfaces.
For example, it can be spread by:
-Directly touching
the body of someone who has symptoms
-Or recently died from the disease
-Cleaning up body fluids (blood, poo, urine or vomit)
-Or touching the soiled
clothing of an infected person
The virus can survive for several days outside the body.
Studies show traces of Ebola
may remain in semen many months after recovery.
You can’t get Ebola from air, water, or food. A person who has Ebola but has no symptoms
can’t spread the disease,
either.
Ebola cannot be caught through routine social contact, such as shaking hands, with people who do
Not have symptoms.
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS
OF EBOLA
The symptoms of Ebola may resemble
those of several
other diseases, including
malaria, cholera, typhoid
fever, meningitis and other viral hemorrhagic fevers.
Early on, Ebola
can feel like the flu or other illnesses.
Symptoms show up 2 to
21 days after infection and usually
include:
-High fever
-Headache
-Joint and muscle aches
-Sore throat
-Severe muscle weakness
-Lack of appetite
As the disease gets worse, it causes bleeding
inside the body, as well as from the eyes, ears, and nose
or mouth.
Some people will
vomit or cough up blood, have bloody diarrhea, and get a rash, stomach pain and
reduced kidney and liver function can follow.
Sometimes it's
hard to tell if a person has Ebola from the symptoms alone.
TREATMENT FOR EBOLA
There's currently
no treatment for Ebola virus disease,
despite drug therapies
Dehydration is common, so fluids
may be given directly into a vein. Blood oxygen levels and blood pressure also needs to be maintained at
the right level,
Ebola virus disease is often fatal, with 1 in 2 people dying from the disease. The sooner a person is
Given care, the better the chance they'll survive.
After a person
recovers from Ebola, their semen or breast milk may continue to carry the virus
for anywhere between several weeks to
several months.
WHERE IS THE EBOLA
It started in Guinea and spread to
Leone, Liberia, and Nigeria.
In two
simultaneous outbreaks: one in Nzara (a town in South Sudan) and the other in
Yambuku (Democratic Republic of the Congo), a village near the Ebola River,
from which the disease takes its name. Ebola outbreaks occur intermittently in
tropical regions of sub-Saharan Africa. Between 1976 and 2012, there were 24
outbreaks of Ebola resulting in a total of 2,387 cases, and 1,590 deaths.
The largest
Ebola outbreak to date was an epidemic in West Africa from December 2013 to
January 2016, with 28,646 cases and 11,323 deaths.
On 29 March 2016, it was declared to no longer be an emergency. Other outbreaks in Africa began in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in May 2017 and 2018.
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