We have for a long time now as humans faced disasters that have threatened to wipe us out of the face of the earth. The battle for survival has at times sent chills down many spines thanks to epidemics like Ebola. Of all the diseases that human beings have faced, Ebola has proved to be a resistant strain that keeps cropping up even at an age when our advancement in medicine is at its peak. The virus has been nicknamed as the
hemorrhagic virus thanks to its symptoms. The virus is believed to reside in Western Africa countries such as Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and Liberia. Fruit bats are also believed to be natural hosts for the virus. It has recorded a 50-90% fatality rate according to CDC making it one of the most dangerous viruses since HIV. The greatest explosion was seen in 2014 still localized on the equatorial belt according to CDC.
How is it spread?
One of the greatest fears about the virus was its mode of transmission. It was soon apparent that it was not airborne. The virus is spread through contact with infected body fluids. These include blood, saliva and body organs. The virus is incurable and symptoms hard to decipher due to the fact that they are similar to other disease in the beginning. The virus targets white blood cells and soon infiltrates every body cell causing major blood loss through body openings such as the mouth. It was proof enough that the world needs to prepare avidly for similar viral outbreaks that threaten existence. The 2015 outbreak caused a major scare but was soon apprehended by the outbreak areas. The strain has been known to hibernate in a dormant state awaiting activation. Medical research personnel are busy looking for places and areas; including people, that could be carriers or the virus. The carriers risk can easily cause a worldwide epidemic of the disease through simple contact and activation of the dormant virus. Infected individuals have to be monitored for 21 days to establish the symptoms.
Statistics
Ebola was first seen in 1976 with 602 recorded cases. 492 of these died. It later resurfaced in 1995 with 315 reported cases. 250 out of these died. The virus hit again in 2001 with lesser victims. 224 deaths were however recorded. It again hit in 2007 with 197 deaths from 224 cases. 2014 had the biggest explosion with 1552 deaths recorded from 3069 cases. Scientists suggest that the explosion came from an increase in population in the areas.
Symptoms
The Ebola virus has symptoms similar to flu and colds at the initial stages making it hard to detect. It is because of this that the virus spreads fast between family members. Unaware family members will handle infected individuals through direct contact as they give care. The infected person will develop a fever, cough, rashes and diarrhea and eventually cough up blood.
Prevention
ELISA has proven to be effective in detecting viruses and preventing them from spreading. The kit uses a double-antigen sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to analyze the existence or not of Human EV in samples. The virus can be easily killed through sanitation. It is important that you keep your surroundings clean. Get rid of any vermin around the house including rats. These act as carriers. The disease is incurable making it a huge risk to date. Survivors have however become an area of research with leaps and bounds being made to find vaccines and cures.
Sources:
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en/
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en/
Author Bio:
Maggie Martin is completing her PhD in Cell Biology, works as a lab tech for Mybiosource.com and contributes content on Biotech, Life Sciences, and Viral Outbreaks. Follow on Twitter @MaggieBiosource
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