The Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak of 2014, one of the largest outbreaks in history, has continued to spread throughout West Africa while the rest of the world defends its borders.
Ebola initially appeared in 1976 in two simultaneous outbreaks in Nzara, Sudan, and in Yambuku, Democratic Republic of Congo in Eastern Africa. The first recorded case was in a village situated near the Ebola River, hence the name.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Protection (CDC), there have been over 5000 suspected and confirmed cases of Ebola worldwide and nearly 3000 suspected case deaths. EVD has a fatality rate of up to 90 percent. It is transmitted from wild animals and bushmeat to humans. The CDC suspects that fruit bats are the likely host for the disease.
Three Americans have contracted the virus, all while assisting infected patients overseas in West Africa. Rick Sacra, Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol have all been contained and hospitalized. Brantly and Writebol have since been released from Emory University Hospital in Georgia. After rigorous testing, doctors declared they were no longer a threat to public health. Sacra, on the other hand, remains in specialists’ hands in Nebraska. After recovering, Nancy Writebol is considering returning to West Africa to continue her work. Because she has already contracted the virus, she is immune to that particular strain. Currently, there are several strains of the virus throughout that portion of the continent.
“I definitely think this outbreak in particular is worse than past outbreaks. Previous ones were contained in a few months and spread in an entirely different portion of Africa. In the 70s, they burnt down entire villages in order to contain the virus,” said Elizabeth Laffan, the Health Science Academy Coordinator at Athens Drive. “Eventually it (the virus) will get under control however, it will take months to years to completely contain and there is always the risk of it becoming a world-wide epidemic.”
BCX4430, an experimental drug currently in the process of beginning clinical trials in humans is said to inhibit the spread of infection. So far, the United States have invested 2.4 million dollars in order to accelerate production and the of the antiviral. In addition, they have sent 3000 military personnel and invested an additional 500 million dollars for 17 treatment centers in Liberia.
EVD is often characterized by a sudden fever, extreme weakness, headache and sore throat. This is followed by vomiting, diarrhea, rash, impaired kidney and liver function. In some cases there is both internal and external bleeding. The incubation period for this virus can be anywhere from 2 to 21 days. There is no treatment of vaccine available to the public for use in people or animals.
For additional information and updates on the spread of the virus, visit http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/
