In 2014, an outbreak of Ebola was recorded. This is the largest outbreak that develops into a pandemic. What is Ebola, what symptoms are inherent in it, what threat does it pose for residents of all countries and how to deal with it - scientists around the world are trying to solve these problems.
Ebola virus
This is the disease that the RNA genomic virus causes. Ebola fever (photo of patients is presented below) is one of the most dangerous hemorrhagic fevers with a high mortality rate. The causative agent was first identified in 1976. It received its name from a river in the Republic of Congo, where it was first discovered during a massive outbreak of an unknown disease, characterized by a high mortality rate - about 90-95%.
There are 5 varieties of this virus: Zaire, Bundibuzhio, Sudan, Thai Forest, Reston. The last - Reston - is not pathogenic for humans, it only affects pigs and monkeys. The first of these - Zaire - caused an outbreak in 2014. This is the most pathogenic virus. Ebola fever affects massively the population of African countries. But in 2014, cases were recorded in other countries of the world. It was assumed that at the end of 2014 the Ebola virus in Russia could begin its march, but this did not happen.
The main carriers of the virus are winged bats and monkeys, which are common in South and West Africa. They themselves do not get sick, but local aborigines eat the meat of these animals and become infected with hemorrhagic fever. Moreover, there are wingers and monkeys - this is a religious cult, and poor economic support, poverty and poverty lead to the fact that entire tribes become infected. This is what Ebola is. This virus is very scary.
Causes of the rapid spread of the disease
Over the past six months, more than 2 thousand people have died from this virus in Liberia. This is due to insufficient funding and weak medical care in this country. In addition, poverty, illiteracy and religious customs contribute to the spread of the virus: the population refuses to be screened, hides the sick and steals them from hospitals. Burial is also a kind of ritual, which involves washing the body and shaving hair for further use in various rituals. Most often, bodies are buried near villages and rivers, which leads to infection of other people. What Ebola is they do not know and do not want to know, therefore sanitary standards are not respected, which leads to the further spread of the disease.
How do people get infected?
The incubation period of the disease is from 3 days to three weeks. No infections have been reported by airborne droplets. This disease - Ebola fever - is transmitted through direct contact with patients or their secretions: bowel movements, sweat, breast milk, seminal fluid, blood. In these fluids, virulence persists for 2-7 weeks. The danger increases if there is damage to the skin of the contactee. Contact with the deceased from a fever is also dangerous: the activity of the virus persists for 1.5 months after the death of the patient. There is evidence of human infection following contact with infected primates, porcupines, and forest antelopes.
Changes in the body with the introduction of the virus
It has been established that irreversible processes occur in the body with the introduction of the Ebola virus. What kind of disease is this, is it possible to help a person - these questions are studied and developed by scientists around the world.
During the incubation period, the virus multiplies intensively in the regional lymph nodes, liver, and spleen. After there is a massive seeding of all organs and tissues with direct destruction by the virus of the cells and the violation of their functions, as well as enhanced autoimmune defense reactions. First of all, the walls of the vessels suffer and hemorrhagic syndrome appears , then edema and subsequently DIC-syndrome (disseminated intravascular coagulation), which leads to hemorrhages in all organs and tissues with impaired function.
Signs of illness
How do the virus, Ebola fever, symptoms of this disease manifest themselves? Is it possible to suspect a disease in the early stages? What should alert you? These issues, due to the large population migration, concern everyone who travels the world or contacts various representatives of the African population and not only. It is necessary to know the main manifestations in order to prevent contact with the sick and isolate the patient.
Many people are interested in the question of what is Ebola, what is this disease. This fever begins with a sudden increase in body temperature to high numbers, then the following symptoms appear:
- At the initial stage, sore throat and behind the chest; weakness, myasthenia gravis.
- The late stage is characterized by the addition of symptoms such as intense bloody vomiting, diarrhea, black feces, rashes throughout the body, and eye bleeding.
- At the final stage, symptoms of multiple organ failure and massive bleeding from all organs with the appearance of large bruises, drain exanthema even with slight pressure on the skin join in.
This is how Ebola feels. Photos of the sick are simply shocking.
Death occurs from hemorrhagic, toxic toxic shock, hypovolemia and multiple organ failure in the second week of illness. It should be noted that the susceptibility to the disease in humans is high, after recovery, a stable immunity to this subtype for 10 years is formed.
Laboratory diagnostics
It has been established that irreversible processes occur in the body with the introduction of the Ebola virus. What kind of disease is this, is it possible to help a person - these questions are studied and developed by scientists around the world.
During the incubation period , the virus multiplies intensively in the regional lymph nodes, liver, and spleen. After there is a massive seeding of all organs and tissues with direct destruction by the virus of the cells and the violation of their functions, as well as enhanced autoimmune defense reactions. First of all, the walls of the vessels suffer, hemorrhagic syndrome appears , then edema, and subsequently DIC-syndrome (disseminated intravascular coagulation), which leads to hemorrhages in all organs and tissues with impaired function.
What to treat
Isolation of patients is necessary in special boxes of the infectious department or in disposable plastic boxes. The treatment is carried out with iodoform and a solution of phenol with sodium bicarbonate. All household items must be disposable, which are subsequently disinfected and burned at high temperature.
Patient care is carried out in an antiplague suit. Treatment of the disease is purely symptomatic. It aims to compensate for the liquid by drinking plenty of water, tea, soups, but not alcohol. You should stop taking blood thinners: Aspirin, Diclofenac, Ibuprofen, etc.
A vaccine for the treatment of this disease is under development and has not yet passed all clinical trials. Three types of vaccines are being prepared in Russia, which are tested on primates. In a few months, according to Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets, vaccines can be used to treat people.
Preventive measures
To prevent infection, it is advisable to refrain from traveling to West Africa, especially to epidemiologically disadvantaged areas. If this is not possible, then the rules of personal hygiene must be observed: wash your hands under running water with soap and water or treat with alcohol. Contact with the local population should be eliminated or minimized and care should be taken not to touch the body fluids of infected people.
The meat of wild animals should be well boiled using only imported water. And go hunting should be in protective clothing and gloves.
When caring for patients and when working with the corpses of the deceased, special clothing is required: a long-sleeved robe, gloves, a mask, boots to prevent blood or biological fluids from entering the body.
Those who die from this infection must be buried quickly and safely by burning. A clear distinction between the sick and the healthy is important, which is practically impossible in the wild tribes. Those persons who looked after the patients, after finishing work, should be monitored for at least 21 days. Suspicious and contact isolate in special boxes, observe for the same time and immunize with specific immunoglobulin obtained from horse serum.