Introduction
First discovered in the year of 1976 after an outbreak in South Sudan (Gatherer, 2014), Ebola is considered as one of the deadliest medical conditions effecting the world along with cancers and AIDS. The disease is highly communicable and contagious even after the death of the victim and, therefore, has become deadlier in a world that is well connected, with thousands of people travelling from one place to another (Goeijenbier, van Kampen, Reusken, Koopmans and van Gorp, 2014). The recent outbreak in the African continent has led the world to shift gears to high alerts for any prospective Ebola victims detected in parts of the world, merely because of contagiousness and highly communicable nature (Gatherer, 2014). The Ebola fever is a viral fever causing severe haemorrhage and ultimately leading to death of the patient. The following paper is a discussion of the Ebola virus and the fever caused by it, its impact and prevention.
Discussion
The Ebola Virus belongs to the RNA virus family, Filoviridae (Gatherer, 2014). Typically known to affect primates, the disease derives its name from the African river Ebola, where the first known cases of Ebola Fever were reported. The virus spreads in outbreaks leading to large number of deaths due to contamination. The Ebola fever is known to cause mass deaths in gorillas and chimpanzees. It was first discovered in humans after a mass outbreak in Nzar region of South Sudan and has appeared as outbreaks ever since (Gatherer, 2014). The most recent outbreak of Ebola was reported in the year 2014 and continues to be a threat to human population if the outbreak reaches a global level. There are several strains of Ebola viruses. Each has a different intensity of effect on humans and other primates. Some are known to be lethal to other animals like pigs and dogs. However, Ebola virus is lethal in all forms and has a high mortality rate amongst its victims.
Symptoms
The Ebola Virus can be recognized by a series of symptoms and physiological effects. The initial stage is flu-like, with headaches, muscle and joint pain, reduced appetite, nausea, sore throat and fever of about 100 degree Fahrenheit, but rapidly develops into vomiting, diarrhoea, swelling in the body and head, impaired brain functioning (Goeijenbier et al, 2014). This development occurs within first five days of appearance of the first symptoms and rapidly develops to produce skin rashes in some cases. After the seventh day of appearance of symptoms, bleeding starts both externally and internally (Gatherer, 2014). The bleeding leads to coughing and vomiting of blood, reduced clotting, bleeding of needle punctures, mucous membranes etc.
Eventually a fully blown case of Ebola leads to death of the victim due to excessive bleeding within six to sixteen days of appearance of the first symptoms (Goeijenbier et al, 2014). However, recovery is also possible, and begins to occur within seven to eight days after the first signs of Ebola. Chances of recovery are only half as the lowest strain of Ebola has a mortality rate of fifty three percent and therefore is lethal for the victim if not treated at all. Although infected patients have very less chances of survival with more viral strains, diagnosis becomes key to fighting the disease.
Diagnosis
The diagnosis of the disease is difficult as the symptoms match with certain other diseases, some of which are deadly as well (Goeijenbier et al, 2014). A suspected patient is first isolated and then their previous records are tracked down, from foreign travel to interactions with wildlife to trace out the point of contact and therefore locate people carrying the infection (Goeijenbier et al, 2014). The main reason for its higher mortality rate is its difficulty and detection and therefore time is prolonged before any medical assistance can be provided to the patient
Treatment
Treatment for Ebola is still at a developmental stage and certain test drugs have been validated by the United Nations for testing on infected people. However, there are very less known means of treatment for the Ebola Fever and preliminary medicines have shown very less effectiveness against the virus. The World Health Organization recommends the use of bleaches for moving bodies and patients. Also, professionals treating patients are required to wear protective gear that completely covers their bodies with no scope for fluids from the patient’s body reaching the skin of the attendant. Early supportive care, rehydration and treatment of symptoms improve chances of survival. However, painkillers are strictly prohibited from administration as they may cause thinning of the blood leading to higher chances of blood loss. Administration of Heparin can help reduce bleeding but is not considered as a solution to the bleeding symptoms (Goeijenbier et al, 2014).
Transmission
Ebola affects primate species the most and transmits through contact between infected and non-infected animals or through contaminated reservoirs of food and water (Goeijenbier et al, 2014). Known to cause deaths in chimpanzees and gorillas, dogs and pigs can carry the Ebola Virus without developing any symptoms of the disease (Gatherer, 2014). However transmission through animals is difficult. Apart from body fluids from infected people, infected water sources, bush meat, freshly decomposing bodies can transmit the virus to healthy humans.
Implications
The subject of this research, the Ebola Fever is a global threat. From the data available one must come to the conclusion that the Ebola Fever needs to be contained and eradicated before it becomes a pandemic. This paper is a descriptive discussion of Ebola and must be used to bring awareness amongst people. Many lives are at stake impending a global outbreak as the Ebola fever is still incurable. Ignorance can worsen the situation and therefore the scenario must be treated with utmost care and intelligence. However, as long as medical facilities continue to develop treatments and governments exercise care in screening people from Ebola prone areas as they move to other parts of the world. As always true, prevention at the moment is better than cure.
Conclusion
The virus is known to develop and spread mostly in the sub-Saharan area of Africa and therefore people living in this area are mostly affected by the virus. The Ebola Fever is a lethal disease and not much is known about the disease as yet. Medical support is not very reliable. However, preventive measures must be taken and their significance must be understood so that the spread of the disease may be stemmed. An Ebola infection is as yet not curable, but efforts are being made to zero in on a cure for the disease as soon as possible. The Ebola fever spread due to a strain of Ebola Virus that transmitted from animals to humans through contaminated water and meat. The consequences of the disease may be tremendous at a global, due to its high mortality rate and high contagiousness. Efforts must be made to screen suspected Ebola victims and rapid measures must be taken to contain and eradicate the disease. The world as we know it faces a biomedical threat. Much like the anthrax Ebola can be used a means of bio-chemical terrorism and must be countered before the implications become obvious.
References
Gatherer D (August 2014). "The 2014 Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa". J Gen Virol 95 (Pt 8): 1619–1624. doi:10.1099/vir.0.067199-0. PMID 24795448.
Goeijenbier M, van Kampen JJ, Reusken CB, Koopmans MP, van Gorp EC (November 2014). "Ebola virus disease: a review on epidemiology, symptoms, treatment and pathogenesis". Neth J Med 72 (9): 442–8. PMID 25387613.
