Ebola Virus: A New Deadly attack

This world is full of shocks to human race. Millions of diseases pop up in the society; then as scientists and doctors try to handle one; other goes out of control.

The same is happening in the world nowadays. Recently the world had experienced the havoc of H1N1 flu (but it was quite manageable). It was not out of picture, fully and there we see another havoc coming.

Recent newspapers are flooded with “Ebola virus”. What’s so crucial about this that it occupies such a huge space in the newspapers every day?

Well by the end of this article you will be satisfied that it really is a crucial issue which requires once again a collective action of all the humans irrespective of boundaries, nation, caste, race or superiority.

Ebola haemorrhagic fever commonly known as Ebola Virus is a severe, often fatal disease in humans and human primates such as monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees, with a risk of death from 25% to 90%. It is one of the world’s most virulent diseases catching the headlines of the world.

This is caused by infection with a virus of the family Filoviridae, genus Ebola virus. When infection occurs, symptoms usually begin abruptly. The first Ebola virus species was discovered in 1976 in Democratic Republic of the Congo near the Ebola River.

It’s one of the unsolved mysteries of the world. The only thing that we know about this disease is its NAME. The reservoir host of Ebola viruses, the treatment path to be followed and the most important the diagnosis of the disease remains unknown till now making it extremely difficult to cope up with it. Hence if a person has the early symptoms of Ebola disease, the only treatment is that patient should be isolated totally. This is just to prevent it from spreading and not for curing the patient!!!

However, on the basis of available evidence researchers believe that the bats are the most likely reservoir; remember most likely and not confirmed. Another fact to be noted is that most of the expected reservoir of this virus occurs in an animal host native to African continent which is why African countries are most affected by this now.

Transmission:

• Direct contact with the blood or secretions of an infected person like sweat.

• Exposure to objects (such as needles) that have been contaminated with infected secretions. Even dead bodies of the infected persons.

Symptoms of Ebola HF typically include:

Fever, Headache, Joint and muscle aches, Weakness, Diarrhea, Vomiting, Stomach pain, Lack of appetite, rashes, red eyes, sometimes internal bleeding etc. It’s like double edged sword, very difficult to diagnose early , because the early symptoms, such as red eyes and a skin rash, are nonspecific to Ebola virus infection and are seen often in patients with more commonly occurring diseases like normal fever cold etc., and if diagnosed late then it’s already too late to save the person.

Ebola virus disease outbreaks can devastate families, friends and communities because they come in close contact with infectious secretions when caring for ill persons. And by the time they will know that the person was infected with Ebola virus, all the persons would have been infected by it.

Indian government is taking all measure to control its entry in India as many Indian work in the highly infected African countries.

WHO seeing its complexities has recently called upon a meeting to chalk out the future plan for the control of this disease. It has already infected a lot of people in Africa and due to its peculiarities it needs to be controlled otherwise it would engulf slowly whole world. WHO has asked all the countries together for a combine action to control it.

BECAUSE IT HAS BECOME A DEADLY DISEASE, HAVING NO CURE, NO VACCINE, NO TREATMENT, THE ONLY SOLUTION IS ISOLATE THE PERSON TO PREVENT IT FROM SPREADING.