EBOLA
Ebola is the name of a rare disease caused by a strain of the Ebola Virus. The disease is only spread through direct contact with the body fluids of an infected person who is ill with symptoms. The more severe symptoms a person has, the more contagious they are. It is believed that Ebola originated from wild animals such as the fruit bat,that live in bush lands of Africa. It is believed that the Ebola Virus can spread to people if they handle an infected animal to prepare for eating, or if they don’t cook it enough before eating it. People can also get Ebola from other infected people or things that are contaminated with sick people’s vomit, blood, or other body fluids. The virus must get into an open cut or mucous membrane such as the eyes, nose, or mouth to cause disease. The virus can remain in semen for several months after a person recovers. When a person recovers they are advised about what activities they should avoid for a certain time period after recovery.
Ebola can take up to 21 days to cause symptoms in a person who was directly exposed to the virus. Most of the time, it takes only 8 to 10 days. Symptoms are fever, headache, joint and muscle aches, vomiting, diarrhea, and other symptoms similar to other viruses. Bleeding inside and outside the body can also occur. The death rate for Ebola is 50 to 70%. There is no vaccination to prevent Ebola yet, but scientists are testing one. There is no treatment that is approved yet, but there are medications that are being tested now.
There is an Ebola outbreak in the West African countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea. There has been a traveler from that area who came to the US and died in a Texas hospital where he was being treated. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control, and the State Health Departments have put controls in place to stop the virus from spreading, and those plans are being updated constantly. Although two health care workers at that Texas hospital have come down with Ebola, it has not spread to the general population. The CDC is studying the way in which the health care workers may have gotten sick, and they are making adjustments to the protocol for caring for sick individuals.The traveler’s household companions were quarantined, but have been released after 21 days because they did not have any symptoms and are not infected.
There is now a traveler’s advisory in effect for travel to West African countries where there is an Ebola outbreak. Also, people are being screened when they leave an affected country and when they arrive from and affected country. Health care workers, who are particularly vulnerable to getting the disease from sick individuals when they come in for treatment, are being more closely trained to be sure they don’t leave any openings to contamination. State and local health departments are working to get the word out to residents, and to update their preparedness plans.
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