Articles: EBOLA VIRUS DISEASE
WHAT IS EBOLA VIRUS DISEASE (EVD)?
Ø It is a severe hemorrhagic often fatal disease in humans;
Ø The average mortality rate is 50%;
Ø The virus is transmitted from wild animals to humans and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission.
BACKGROUND
Ø Ebola Virus Disease first appeared in 1976 in Democratic Republic of Congo;
Ø The current outbreak of EVD is the largest, and the most complex Ebola outbreak with thousands of deaths reported since March, 2014;
Ø The most severely affected countries are Guinea, Sierra-Leone, and Liberia in West Africa;
Ø EVD has recently spread to Senegal and Nigeria as well as to Dallas, TX (USA) and Spain.
TRANSMISSION
Ø EVD spreads through human-to-human transmission via direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes like eyes, nose, mouth, ears, eyelids, and genital area) with the blood, secretions, bodily fluids of infected people, and with surfaces and materials (bedding, clothes) contaminated with these fluids (sweat, urine, saliva, feces, vomit, breast milk and semen);
Ø Burial ceremonies in which relatives have a direct contact to deceased person also play a role in transmission Ebola;
Ø People may still remain infectious while EVD remains in blood and bodily fluids of these people;
Ø Men who have recovered from EVD can still transmit the virus through their semen for up to 7 weeks;
Ø Breastfed women who have recovered from EVD may still contain the virus in their breast milk for up to 7 weeks and can transmit it to their new born children.
SYMPTOMS
Ø Onset of symptoms is between 2 to 21 days;
Ø Fever (≥ 101.5 F or 38.6C); muscle pain, headache, and sore throat, followed by diarrhea, vomiting, rash, symptoms of impaired kidney and liver function, and in some cases, bleeding (oozing from gums, blood in stool).
TREATMENT
Ø Supportive care – rehydration with IV fluids;
Ø Treating of specific symptoms (fever, secondary infections, etc.);
Ø No vaccine is available; however 2 potential vaccines are undergoing human safety testing.
PREVENTION
Ø Avoid traveling to Western African countries such as Guinea, Sierra-Leone, and Nigeria if possible until we have more information about the treatment and/or a control of EVD in these regions;
Ø Practice appropriate hygiene. Wash your hands with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer and avoid contact with blood and bodily fluids of an infected person;
Ø Do not handle items that may have come in contact with an infected person’s blood or bloody fluids (i.e. clothes, bedding, needles, and medical equipment);
Ø Avoid funeral or burial rituals that require handling the body of someone who has died of EVD;
Ø Avoid contact with bats and nonhuman primates, or blood, fluids, and raw meat prepared from these animals;
Ø Avoid hospitals in West Africa where Ebola patients are being treated. The US Embassy and Consulate are able to provide advice on such facilities as well alternate facilities;*
Ø After you return to the United States from Liberia, Guinea, or Sierra-Leone you will be screened for EVD at the following airports: JFK, Washington-Dulles, Newark, Chicago-O’Hare, or Atlanta International Airports. This is because it is estimated that 90% of flyers from these regions will arrive at these airports;
- After passport review a traveler will be escorted by CBP (customs and border protection) to a private area of the airport for screening;
- A trained CBP stuff will observe the traveler for signs of the illness, ask certain questions, provide the latest information about EVD and take their temperature with a non-contact thermometer;
- If a traveler has a fever or reveals positive signs of EVD, he/she will be referred to a CDC quarantine station public health officer. The officer will take a temperature measurement again and make a public health assessment. Then, the traveler will be referred to the appropriate health authority.
- Travelers who have neither symptoms of a disease nor a history of a recent exposure to the virus will receive further health information for self-monitoring.
Ø After you return to United States, it is recommended that one should monitor their health for 21 days and seek medical attention immediately should they develop signs and symptoms of EVD.
* US Embassy and Consulate of Guinea phone number: +224-67-10-43-11
* US Embassy and Consulate of Sierra-Leone phone number: +232 76 515 000
* US Embassy and Consulate of Nigeria phone number: (234)-9-461-4000
For more information, please visit the CDC website:
http://www.cdc.gov/hicpac/2007IP/2007ip_part2.html#e
Reference:
Ø Media Center of World Health Organization.http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en/
Ø Ebola Virus Disease. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/prevention