Ebola the dreaded virus
View(s):With Guinea in Western Africa experiencing its first outbreak of the Ebola virus, Dr. Sanjaya Senanayake explains the disease which frighteningly has no cure
What is Ebola?
Ebola comes from a family of viruses called filoviruses. They look like question marks under an electron microscope, which is appropriate given how many questions they’ve raised over the years. Its fearsome reputation has captured the imagination and led to movies like “Outbreak” and books like “The Hot Zone”.
The virus is named after the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where one of the first outbreaks occurred in the 1970s.
What does it do?
Once infected with Ebola, it takes about a week for someone to become sick. It starts off as a severe flu-like illness with headaches, a sore throat, fevers, muscle aches, vomiting and diarrhoea. After a few days, people become increasingly lethargic and unresponsive. They begin to show signs of impaired clotting ability which is where the virus gets its fearsome reputation: this includes bleeding from the eyes and the intestines. It can kill up to 90% of infected people, which is an extraordinarily high rate for any infection.
Is there a cure?
No. There are no drugs to treat it and no vaccines to prevent it. This is yet another reason to fear this infection.
Can it be transmitted to other people?
Yes, which adds to its deadliness. Although it typically is not spread by breathing, it spreads to others through infected body fluids, such as blood. In previous outbreaks of Ebola, vulnerable groups have included:
Those looking after patients (doctors and nurses in hospitals, family and friends at home)
People disposing of corpses
Where does it come from?
It is thought that viruses like Ebola live in fruit bats, although that hasn’t been proven. But it often spreads to humans through contact with non-human primates e.g. monkeys.
If there is no cure, how can you stop an outbreak?
Once a diagnosis of Ebola has been confirmed, the institution of good public health measures in the community (e.g. identifying and quarantining exposed contacts) and effective infection control measures in hospitals can stop the virus from spreading further. This often means that an outbreak, though deadly, can be contained within a relatively small area. Unfortunately, in the present outbreak in Guinea, it appears that the virus has travelled to different parts of the country before spilling over into neighbouring nations. This has made it far more challenging for the governments of the affected nations and the assisting medical teams from overseas.
Also, the ease of global travel means that world governments have to be vigilant for someone coming from the affected region who might be incubating the virus. If such a person became sick in another country, a new outbreak could occur there.
Is Ebola virus only found in Africa?
All Ebola strains are found in Africa except for one, which is usually associated with pigs in the Philippines and China. Amazingly, the non-African strain was first discovered in the USA when scientists investigated the cause of an outbreak in macaque monkeys imported from the Philippines. The strain was named Reston after the town in Virginia where it was found. At the time, it caused grave concern because it seemed that there was an outbreak of Ebola on the doorstep of Washington DC! But thankfully, we now know that the Reston strain of Ebola virus doesn’t cause illness in humans.