Ebola Virus

Ebola Latest News

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Ebola outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda a global public health emergency under the International Health Regulations.

About Ebola

• It is a severe and often deadly viral disease caused by a group of viruses known as orthoebolaviruses (formerly ebolavirus).
• It is a severe contagious disease affecting humans and non-human primates. 
• Ebola, first identified in 1976 in southern Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, primarily affects remote villages in Central and West Africa.  
• It is known as a hemorrhagic fever virus because it can cause problems with the clotting system of the body and lead to internal bleeding as blood leaks from small blood vessels. 

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Ebola Transmission

• The virus is transmitted to people from wild animals (such as fruit bats, porcupines, and non-human primates).
• It then spreads in the human population through direct contact with the blood, secretions, organs, or other bodily fluids of infected people and with surfaces and materials contaminated with these fluids.
• Ebola cannot be transmitted by air. 
• Infectious period: 
  • Infected individuals are not contagious during the incubation period and become infectious once they begin to develop symptoms. 
  • They remain infectious as long as the virus is present in the blood.  

Ebola Symptoms

• Incubation period: Typically 5 to 15 days; range is 2 to 21 days. 
• Symptoms include fever, diarrhea, vomiting, bleeding, and often, death.
• The average Ebola disease case fatality rate is around 50%. Case fatality rates have varied from 25–90% in past outbreaks.

Ebola Treatment

• There is no known cure for Ebola. 
• There are no approved drugs or vaccines available to treat EVD, although experimental vaccines and therapeutics are being tested. 
• Recovery seems to depend in part on how much virus a person was initially exposed to, how early treatment is started, and on the patient’s age and immune response. 
• Chances of survival can be improved with early supportive care.
• Current therapy consists of maintenance of fluid and electrolyte balance and the administration of blood and plasma to control bleeding.