Ebola

Overview

Ebola was first discovered in the democratic republic in Congo and is one of the most fatal and severe diseases known to man although it didn’t manage to take the title off monkey-pox for the best named disease. Ebola doesn’t only affect humans but also other primates such as monkeys and chimpanzees. There are subtypes of Ebola and if you want to view Ebola in action, we suggest looking for the Ivory Coast subtype that only affects nonhuman primates but if you don’t send us your money it may make an exception.

Spread

The theory to how the first human become infected with disease involves a now dead man coming in contact with an infected animal. The virus has been documented in research conditions in monkeys to be airborne however the virus seems quite lazy in a real world setting and no such spread has being present. The virus is passed on when someone come in contact with the blood or secretions of an infected patient. Although the virus has being transmitted through touching contaminated objects.

In poorer countries an out break is radically increased via the lack of protective clothing such as masks and gloves. Needles and syringes are often reused and if not sterilized can also increase the outbreak of the disease.

Symptoms

These can differ from patient to patient but normally after a few days of infection patients develop high fevers, headaches, muscle aches, stomach pain, fatigue and diarrhoea. Sounds great, doesn’t it? Well it gets even better well actually worse as within one week of infection the patient will suffer chest pain and soon after that death. Other patients don’t die and it is still unknown why some people die and others don’t. Mainly because I haven’t got round to finding out yet.

Prevention/treatment

There are no specific treatments or cures for the disease but in a large outbreak in Congo in 1995, 8 patients were given the blood of an infected patient who survived. Seven of the eight survived but the study size was small and the effectiveness of the treatment remains unknown. So we may know of a possible treatment but can’t be bothered testing it any further.

Since the source of the virus I still unknown there are few prevention methods. Preventing the disease involves being able to spot the disease straight away by using diagnostic tests and then setting up a quarantine around any one who is believed to be infected. The wearing of protective clothing including masks and gloves and the sterilization of all equipment involved is also vitally important to stop a spread of the disease.