Date post: | 16-Nov-2014 |
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Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever (Ebola virus disease) -- key facts
Dr. Praveen Malik, Assistant Professor (Medicine)HIMSR, Jamia Hamdard, Delhi
Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever, is a severe, often fatal illness in humans.
Ebola hemorrhagic fever is a disease caused by five different strains of Ebola virus; these viruses infect humans and nonhuman primates.
1. Bundibugyo ebolavirus (BDBV)2. Zaire ebolavirus (EBOV)3. Reston ebolavirus (RESTV)4. Sudan ebolavirus (SUDV)5. Taï Forest ebolavirus (TAFV).
Fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family are considered to be the natural host of the Ebola virus.
The disease takes its name from Ebola River which flows through Republic of Congo.
Ebola hemorrhagic fever has a short history since it was discovered in 1976. There have been a few outbreaks, including the current
(2014) "unprecedented epidemic" in Africa.
Symptoms and Signs
• incubation period of 2 to 21 days,• starting with abrupt fever, headache, joint
and muscle aches, sore throat, and weakness;• progression of symptoms include diarrhoea,
vomiting, stomach pain, hiccups, and rash• devastating symptoms of internal and external
bleeding in many patients.
Ebola viruses are mainly found in primates in Africa and possibly the Philippines; there are only occasional outbreaks of infection in humans. Ebola hemorrhagic fever occurs mainly in Africa in the
Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Sudan, Ivory Coast, and Uganda, but it may occur in other African countries.
Ebola virus can be spread by direct contact with blood and secretions, by contact with blood and secretions that remain on
clothing, and by needles and/or syringes used to treat Ebola-infected patients.
Risk factors for Ebola hemorrhagic fever are travel to areas with endemic Ebola hemorrhagic fever and/or any close association
with an infected person.
Early clinical diagnosis is difficult as the symptoms are nonspecific; however, if the patient is suspected to have Ebola, the patient
needs to be isolated and local and state health departments need to be immediately contacted.
Definitive diagnostic tests for Ebola hemorrhagic fever are ELISA and or PCRtests; viral cultivation and biopsy samples may also be
used.
Severely ill patients require intensive supportive care. No licensed specific treatment or vaccine is available for use in people or
animals.
ZMapp: New potential medication for Ebola Virus Disease
There are many complications from Ebola hemorrhagic fever; the prognosis for patients ranges from fair to poor since many patients died from the disease (case fatality rate equals about 25%-100%).
Prevention of Ebola hemorrhagic fever is difficult; early testing and isolation of the patient, plus barrier nursing for caregivers (mask, gown, goggles, and gloves), is very important to prevent others
from getting infected.
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