Ebola - A week in pictures:
Ebola Update October 2014
What is Ebola?
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Ebola is one of the world’s most deadly diseases and is thankfully very rare. It is a virus that can kill between 30 and 90 percent of the people who catch it. It was first reported in 1976 in Sudan and DR Congo - it got it's name from a river in DR Congo. The virus also infects bats, chimpanzees and other animals. The current outbreak is thought to have been spread to humans from bats. Human-to-human transmission has been the main source of spread since then.
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West Africa was ill-equipped for an Ebola outbreak because of war and poverty, poorly developed local health systems and a lack of doctors and nurses. The region's health workers had no experience of an Ebola outbreak and didn't know what they were seeing in those first critical months. Influenza, Malaria, Typhoid and Cholera have similar presentations. In the spring the outbreak seemed to fade, making officials overconfident. And then the virus made the leap from rural villages to crowded cities.
Local customs in handling the dead spread the virus. Some West Africans believe that the day you die is one of the most important days of your life. The final farewell can be a hands-on, affectionate ritual in which the body is washed and dressed, and in some villages carried through the community, where friends and relatives will share a favourite beverage by putting the cup to the lips of the deceased before taking a drink. This exposed the mourners to the Ebola virus...
Professor Sam McConkey from the Royal College of Surgeons and Dr Graham Fry from the Tropical Medical Bureau expect at least one case of the potentially lethal virus to occur here. Chief Medical Officer with the HSE Tony Holohan said National plans for dealing with Ebola have existed since 2002 and have been put into operation, with a 12-bed isolation unit at the Mater hospital. Ireland's hospital and public health systems are more sophisticated than those in West Africa and in the event of a confirmed case in Ireland there is unlikely to be a significant outbreak here.
Local customs in handling the dead spread the virus. Some West Africans believe that the day you die is one of the most important days of your life. The final farewell can be a hands-on, affectionate ritual in which the body is washed and dressed, and in some villages carried through the community, where friends and relatives will share a favourite beverage by putting the cup to the lips of the deceased before taking a drink. This exposed the mourners to the Ebola virus...
Professor Sam McConkey from the Royal College of Surgeons and Dr Graham Fry from the Tropical Medical Bureau expect at least one case of the potentially lethal virus to occur here. Chief Medical Officer with the HSE Tony Holohan said National plans for dealing with Ebola have existed since 2002 and have been put into operation, with a 12-bed isolation unit at the Mater hospital. Ireland's hospital and public health systems are more sophisticated than those in West Africa and in the event of a confirmed case in Ireland there is unlikely to be a significant outbreak here.
Tracking the outbreak:
The current Ebola Virus outbreak has infected 8400 people and caused 4100 deaths. The main countries affected are in West Africa - Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone. There have also been been cases in Senegal and Nigeria. In the last week there have been isolated cases reported in the USA and Spain. The current outbreak has more confirmed cases and deaths than all previous outbreaks combined.
This outbreak probably started in late 2013 but was not identified as Ebola until March 2014. Previous outbreaks were somewhat self limiting as they occurred primarily in remote villages in Central and West Africa. The 2014 Ebola outbreak is the largest Ebola outbreak in history and the first in West Africa. As it has occurred in urban areas with large populations and transport links the disease has been more difficult to contain.
This outbreak probably started in late 2013 but was not identified as Ebola until March 2014. Previous outbreaks were somewhat self limiting as they occurred primarily in remote villages in Central and West Africa. The 2014 Ebola outbreak is the largest Ebola outbreak in history and the first in West Africa. As it has occurred in urban areas with large populations and transport links the disease has been more difficult to contain.
How is Ebola spread?
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How Ebola is transmitted:
Ebola infection is spread through close contact with someone who is sick with Ebola. The contact needs to be with bodily fluids of someone sick with Ebola (blood, breast milk, urine, saliva, sweat, faeces and semen/sexual fluids). Ebola can also be spread by handling animals infected with Ebola virus - bats, chimpanzees, gorillas, amongst others. How Ebola is NOT transmitted: Ebola is not transmitted through air, water or food(except perhaps handling infected raw bushmeat). Mosquitos and other insects do not spread Ebola. Contact with people who have survived Ebola will not transmit Ebola. (Men can, however, transmit Ebola in semen for 12 weeks after surviving infection). If you have contact with someone who is not sick but later becomes unwell with Ebola you should not be at risk. |
What are the symptoms of Ebola?
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Symptoms may appear anywhere from 2 to 21 days after exposure to Ebola, but the average is 8 to 10 days:
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Is there a treatment for Ebola?
There is no specific treatment for Ebola infection and a patient's recovery depends largely on their own immune response. Medical care can help improve a patient's chances of survival by supporting them e.g. rehydrating the patient with fluids etc. There are currently some treatments and vaccines in development but it is not known if or when these might become available.
People who recover from Ebola infection are protected from Ebola infection for at least 10 years.
People who recover from Ebola infection are protected from Ebola infection for at least 10 years.
Travelling to and from an Ebola affected country?
If you must travel to an area affected by the 2014 Ebola outbreak, protect yourself by doing the following:
- Wash hands frequently or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
- Avoid contact with blood and body fluids of any person, particularly someone who is sick.
- Do not handle items that may have come in contact with an infected person’s blood or body fluids.
- Do not touch the body of someone who has died from Ebola.
- Do not touch bats and nonhuman primates or their blood and fluids and do not touch or eat raw meat prepared from these animals.
- Avoid hospitals in West Africa where Ebola patients are being treated.
- Seek medical care immediately if you develop fever (temperature of 38.6°C or more) and any of the other following symptoms: headache, muscle pain, diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach pain, or unexplained bruising or bleeding. Limit your contact with other people until you go a healthcare facility. Telephone ahead prior to attending your doctor's surgery and please make your doctor aware of your symptoms and your recent travel history / contact with someone with a significant travel history who has become unwell. Do not travel anywhere else besides a healthcare facility. Your doctor will then advise you on the appropriate course of action.