Ebola still around: Remember everything you’ve forgotten

Another Ebola scare is here for us to deal with.

The Ministry of Health has released a statement that the suspected case of Ebola is yet to be confirmed and the public must remain calm.  There are those who are surprised that Ebola is still around and understandably so because it was no more in the headlines. 

That, notwithstanding, scary calls have been made over the past few weeks on how the world was losing the fight to control Ebola. 

The Director of operations for Doctors Without Borders, Dr Bart Janssens, stated frighteningly, "The epidemic is out of control".

Such calls and the facts on the ground informed the emergency meeting in Accra among Health ministers from 11 West African countries. The two-day meeting, organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO), was to adopt a common strategy to fight what has become the world's deadliest outbreak to date.

So far, 759 people have been infected with the virus in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone and 467 of them have died.

The impact of this epidemic on the affected countries has been grave. The CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr Sanjay Gupta, who travelled to Conakry, Guinea, rightly said.

"There is a lot we know about Ebola, and it scares us almost as much as what we don't know."

So what do we know?

Ebola first appeared in 1976 in two simultaneous outbreaks, in Nzara, Sudan, and in Yambuku, Democratic Republic of Congo. The latter was in a village situated near the Ebola River, from which the disease takes its name.

Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) is a violent killer, up to 90% of its patients die averagely within 10 days. In previous outbreaks, they were usually in remote areas which made it easier to contain, but this outbreak is different; patients have been identified in 60 locations in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Fruit bats are considered to be the natural host of the virus.

Ebola is introduced into the human population through close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected animals. In Africa, infection has been documented through the handling of infected chimpanzees, gorillas, fruit bats, monkeys, forest antelope and porcupines found ill or dead or in the rainforest.

Ebola then spreads in the community through human-to-human transmission, with infection resulting from direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people, and indirect contact with environments contaminated with such fluids. Burial ceremonies in which mourners have direct contact with the body of the deceased person can also play a role in the transmission of Ebola. Men who have recovered from the disease can still transmit the virus through their semen for up to seven weeks after recovery from illness.

Healthcare workers have frequently been infected while treating patients with suspected or confirmed EVD when precautions are not strictly practiced.

EVD is a severe acute viral illness often characterised by the sudden onset of fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat. This is followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, impaired kidney and liver function, and in some cases, both internal and external bleeding. Laboratory findings include low white blood cell and platelet counts and elevated liver enzymes.

People are infectious as long as their blood and secretions contain the virus.

The incubation period, that is, the time interval from infection with the virus to onset of symptoms, is two to 21 days.

The Scientist who discovered Ebola, Dr Peter Piot, reassures as “There is no cure for Ebola, but in theory, the disease should be easy to fight”.

Dr Piot says, "You need really close contact to become infected. So just being on the bus with someone with Ebola, that’s not a problem."

He stresses, "Simple hygienic measures such as washing with soap and water, not re-using syringes, and avoiding contact with infected corpses are sufficient to stop the spread of the disease."

Severely ill patients require intensive supportive care. Patients are frequently dehydrated and require oral rehydration with solutions containing electrolytes or intravenous fluids.

What we don't know?

Currently, no known vaccine or specific treatment is available. New drug therapies are being evaluated.

Again, the WHO's assistant director-general of health security, Keiji Fukuda, points out that it is "impossible to give a clear answer" on how far the epidemic can spread.

This current Ebola outbreak is unprecedented, the meeting in Accra asked for more political commitment, aid and financial support to combat this deadly disease in the region.

Until experts get to turn things around and halt the spread, we must be on the high alert and take the precautions stated supra.

The writer is a Medical Officer at the St John of God Hospital, Duayaw Nkwanta.