Ebola Viral Disease is a potentially fatal infection which kills a minimum of a half of anyone it contaminates. The ebola incubation period lasts in between 2 and 21 days, after which some quite severe symptoms will be experienced. The search for a treatment still continues.
The dreaded Ebola viral disease, previously called Ebola hemorrhagic fever is a serious disease which kills approximately 90% of anybody it infects. So far, the infection can be contracted by human beings, along with nonhuman primates that include such animals as chimpanzees, gorillas and monkeys.
The infection made its first look in 1976 with break outs in a town near the Ebola River located in the Democratic Republic of Congo and a remote area in the Sudan, concurrently.
Although its origin remains unknown, it is the firm belief of scientists that the primary hosts of the Ebola infection are fruit bats or Pteropodidae.
Ebola Virus Incubation Period
The period of incubation for the Ebola viral disease is usually in between 5 and 10 days. However, this period can be encompassed 2 to 21 days in total.
Diagnosis of Symptoms
The Ebola viral disease carries excellent risk of death for anybody who ends up being infected. Following a period of incubation of in between 2 and 21 days, the infection will then cause the infected person to show a range and range of symptoms. These often include extreme pain, diarrhea, nausea, feeling ill and at times, internal and external bleeding. Within the 2nd week of infection the fever will either lessen or the patient will start to experience multiple organ failure. There is a fairly high death rate varying from between 50% to 90%. This depends on the types and strain of the virus. Infected individuals normally die from either organ failure or hypovolemic shock.
Symptoms in Different Stages
Ebola viral disease presents with a variety of symptoms which frequently appear rather quickly. The first symptoms are normally just like those of more common and less severe bacterial infections such as influenza, typhoid fever or malaria. These initial symptoms include a high fever of a minimum of 101.8 degrees Fahrenheit or 38.8 degrees Celsius, pain, severe headache, nausea, sore throat, bleeding internally and externally, dizziness, weakness, and tiredness.
Ultimately, the disease progresses with more vital symptoms to include bloody or dark feces, diarrhea, petechia, vomiting blood, and red eyes which are an outcome of hemorrhage of the sclerotic arterioles. Secondary signs of the infection can also happen in the form of tachycardia, low high blood pressure and shock in the form of hypovolemia.
One of the primary impacts of the Ebola virus is internal and external bleeding. In many cases an infected person might begin bleeding from any partly recovered injuries or point of entries such as an injection site on the skin. This bleeding is as a result of the fact that the virus targets and impacts the platelets in the blood. This in turn produces a chemical which creates holes the size of a cell into the walls of the blood vessel.
To some degree, Ebola can modify the levels of leukocyte and platelets, thereby making it more difficult and even difficult for the blood to embolisms. Hemorrhaging establishes in over 50% of patients.
How contagious is the Ebola virus?
Inning accordance with the World Health Organization, Ebola spreads out through “human-to-human transmission through direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) with blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people.”
How to Diagnose
In order to diagnose the Ebola virus, blood and urine sample are tested with a special enzyme through what is called ELISA or Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay. This does have a minute margin of error of about 2%. This results in a false favorable even in areas where there is no outbreak. Another test was later established by the USAMRIID as an alternative. This test uses Immunofluorescent antibody analysis. Neither type of tests is commercially offered.
What Is the Treatment?
Sadly, there are still no efficient treatments that can entirely damage the Ebola virus. The basic course of action is to eliminate the symptoms as much as possible as the body aims to defend itself versus the virus. This type of treatment is frequently described as encouraging care.
Supportive Care as a Treatment Option for Ebola
The approaches of supportive treatments used for Ebola include:
- Use of IV fluids to preserve healthy levels of electrolytes (chloride, salt and potassium) in the body
- Help with breathing through using oxygen and other devices
- Administering medication to decrease fever, maintain the high blood pressure and help with clotting
- Administering antibiotics to lower the risks of infections by bacteria
- Good bedside care
What Is the Outcome Following Treatment?
The disconcerting death rate for Ebola is within 50 to 90 percent. Up until now, research study has not shown substantial result in explain why some people survive the virus while others surrender. However, it is a truth that those who pass away as a result of Ebola had not established an effective immune response as much as the point of death.
