What is EBOLA VIRUS?
The Ebola virus causes Ebola
hemorrhagic fever, a disease that is usually acquired once a person comes into
contact with the blood or bodily fluids of an infected animal such as monkey or
fruit bat.
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| Electron micrograph of an Ebola virus virion |
How will the virus spread?
When infection of human happens, it can
easily spread from one person to another. Infection may result from
direct contact with secretions, organs, blood, or other bodily fluids of
infected individuals and through indirect contact with the environments
contaminated with such fluids. Spreading of the disease can also be from
having contact with the bodies of people who died from the virus like during
funeral preparations and burial ceremonies.
Symptoms of Ebola include sudden onset
of fever, headache, joint and muscle aches, intense weakness, sore throat,
vomiting, diarrhea, lack of appetite, stomach pain and in some cases bleeding.
The incubation period of the virus, from infection to onset of symptoms,
is 2 to 21 days.
What are ways to prevent the spreading
of the virus?
Prevention can start by decreasing the
spread from infected animals to human which can be done by checking for infection,
and killing them and properly disposing of the bodies if disease is discovered.
Animal products (blood and meat) should be thoroughly cooked before consumption.
Places with suspected outbreak should be quarantined. Routine
cleaning and disinfection of animal farms can be effective in inactivating the
virus. When taking care of ill patients, wear protective gloves, mask and
clothing.
What is the treatment for Ebola Virus
Disease?
There is no specific treatment yet for
the virus. No licensed vaccine is available, though several vaccines are
being tested.
The ill patients require intensive
supportive care. They are frequently hydrated and require oral rehydration with
fluids containing electrolytes and intravenous fluids.
Other facts about Ebola Virus:
Although this virus is fatal for as
much as 90 percent, those who managed to recover should exercise extreme
caution for two months because they may still be infectious. And men who
recovered from the virus can still transmit the disease through their semen for
up to 7 weeks.
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