Facts about Ebola

The Ebola virus causes an acute, serious illness which is often fatal if untreated. The current outbreak in West Africa, (first cases notified in March 2014), is the largest and most complex Ebola outbreak since the Ebola virus was first discovered in 1976. The most severely affected countries — Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia — have very weak health systems, lacking human and infrastructural resources, having only recently emerged from long periods of conflict and instability. On August 8, the WHO Director-General declared this outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

The virus family Filoviridae includes 3 genera: Cuevavirus, Marburgvirus, and Ebolavirus. There are 5 species that have been identified: Zaire, Bundibugyo, Sudan, Reston and Taï Forest. The first 3, Bundibugyo ebolavirus, Zaire ebolavirus, and Sudan ebola virus have been associated with large outbreaks in Africa. The virus causing the 2014 West African outbreak belongs to the Zaire species.

It is thought that fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family are natural Ebola virus hosts. Ebola is introduced into the human population through close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected animals such as chimpanzees, gorillas, fruit bats, monkeys, forest antelope and porcupines found ill or dead or in the rainforest.

Ebola then spreads through human-to-human transmission via direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people, and with surfaces and materials (e.g. bedding, clothing) contaminated with these fluids.

Health-care workers have frequently been infected while treating patients with suspected or confirmed EVD. This has occurred through close contact with patients when infection control precautions are not strictly practiced.

Burial ceremonies in which mourners have direct contact with the body of the deceased person can also play a role in the transmission of Ebola.
People remain infectious as long as their blood and body fluids, including semen and breast milk, contain the virus. Men who have recovered from the disease can still transmit the virus through their semen for up to 7 weeks after recovery from illness.

Early Ebola symptoms include fever, headache, body aches, cough, stomach pain, vomiting, and diarrhoea. Because these could be symptoms of other diseases, it’s difficult to diagnose Ebola early on. The time it takes from exposure to Ebola to actually getting sick, known as the incubation period, is anywhere from 2 to 21 days.

Most people who are infected with Ebola will develop early symptoms eight to nine days after exposure to the virus. Specific tests for antibodies against Ebola and viral DNA help doctors make a conclusive diagnosis. Later symptoms of Ebola can appear quickly, within a few days after onset of early symptoms. Due to internal and external bleeding, the patient’s eyes may become red, and they may vomit blood, have bloody diarrhoea, and suffer cardiovascular collapse and death. The only treatment doctors can provide is supportive care — they give the patient fluids and oxygen, and keep their blood pressure steady.

Nearly half of the cases of Ebola viral infection in West Africa have resulted in death, based on WHO data. Of the 9,226 cases in the current outbreak, 4,555 people have died, as of Oct 17, according to WHO statistics. — Online.