Ebola Update

Ebola

The Ebola virus first started to spread in West Africa and found the region with poor early warning systems to alert the authorities on the detection of the virus (EVD). The result was increased spreading, and the poorly coordinated health systems could not hinder it. On February 14, 2016, local media reported a suspected case of Ebola in Viet Nam and the 27-year-old man was quarantined after returning from Africa with symptoms of the EVD. The efficient and timely detection systems in place hinder the spread of the virus. In Sierra Leone, four contacts with the disease were declared free of the virus after quarantine and released on 11th Feb. 2016. The Ebola virus disease is a deadly outbreak if no action is taken within the appropriate time frame. The source of the virus is the bats and spreads through direct contact with an infected person via body fluids like blood.

It is interesting to realize that the methods of the spread of the virus are preventable, but the outbreak of 2014 led to the death of many people in West Africa. People can avoid the direct contact with body fluids since the disease cannot spread through water, air, or food. It is unusual for the residents of United States to have such types of diseases.

The first infection with the Ebola virus occurred in 1976 in two simultaneous outbreaks in Nzara and Yambuku near Ebola River. The World Health Organization has reported a total of 24 outbreaks between 1976 and 2013 involving 1716 cases. The significant outbreak occurred between 2013 December and January 2016 reporting 11,315 deaths and 28,838 cases and affected the West Africa. Sierra Leone had the reoccurrence on January 14, 2016 (CDC, 2015).

Ebola Virus is part of the family Filoviridae and the genus Ebolavirus. It has five species known to cause disease in humans. The viruses contain single-stranded and non-infectious RNA genomes, and its life cycle starts upon attaching to a particular cell-surface receptor.

Ebola Virus disease can infect any person through direct contact with the fluid of an infected person. Upon infection, the virus targets the endothelial cells, liver cells, and other types of immune cells. No gender is more susceptible to the infection than another. The disease is severe and fatal in a human having the average EVD case fatality at 50%. However, the risk of death may vary between 25 to 90 percent depending on the severity of the infection and the nature of the affected population (CDC, 2015). There is no evidence of the transmission of the virus through mosquitoes and other insects, but only in humans, bat, monkeys, and apes.

An infection with the virus may reveal the symptoms after 2 to 21 days after exposure, but the average is ten days. The symptoms are similar to those from other viruses. Patients have increased fever, muscle pain, headaches, weakness, diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain among others. Others have nose and mouth bleeding as well rashes in the advanced stages (CDC, 2015).

The good thing about Ebola Virus disease is that it is preventable though it has no cure. Health care professionals can control the spread of an outbreak through quarantine of the affected persons. The caregivers should also wear the protective gear against the virus to avoid re-infection. I chose the topic because the disease is preventable despite it being deadly and cause of many infections. The affected regions should have adequate, measures to contain the spread of the disease.

In conclusion, it appears that the prevention to EVD does not require complex procedures, and hence easy to comply. The United States does not have any suspected cases of the disease, but mandatory screening to the people visiting the West African countries could be a good measure. There has been progressive research on the need to have an Ebola virus vaccine. The government funding on Ebola should continue to ensure that it is fully contained.

Reference

Additional Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2015) Ebola Virus Disease.

Sherry Roberts is the author of this paper. A senior editor at Melda Research in academic writing agencies if you need a similar paper you can place your order for a custom research paper from research paper company.

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