22 November 2008
Ebola symptoms and effects
There is a recent news on the outbreak of Ebola virus that killed 37 people in Uganda earlier a year ago. Ebola is a strain provisionally named Bundibugyo ebolavirus after the district where the outbreak occurred. Ebola is a filovirus which causes haemorrhagic fever (VHF).
High temperature, exhaustion, dizziness, watery diarrhoea and muscle ache are the early symptoms of the attack. As the virus spreads, the feverish patient often starts to bleed under the skin and in severe cases, from the mouth, ears and eyes. Blood loss, shock and organ failure lead to coma and delirium and, in many cases, to death, within three to seven days after onset of symptoms.
Until now, there have been around 1850 cases and 1200 deaths that have been documented by WHO since the first virus attack was identified. The virus' genome was decoded in a matter of days, the outcome of which showed a variation of 32 percent compared with the three existing strains. The wide genetic divergence between the strains has major implications, the authors say.
Take a look at the video clip on Ebola:-
http://www.tajtube.com/watch_video.php?v=47b9e3a56123884
US scientists working in a Pentagon-backed programme successfully tested a vaccine among monkeys in 2005 and 2006, but trialling this formula on humans remains a distant goal. It will require the invention of new diagnostic tools to detect outbreaks and could complicate the quest for vaccines and treatments. In the absence of a shield or a cure, the only solution is the time-honoured method of isolating the patient, providing barrier protection like rubber gloves, gowns and goggles for health workers and rigidly observing hygiene procedures.
Ebola is also lethal for non-human primates that killed thousands of gorillas and chimps in recent years which inturn are endangering those who butcher or handle their meat.