What’s the new health information about the deadly Ebola?
The Philippines is still free of the deadly Ebola virus. US,
on the other hand, has a few cases.
In Ohio, there are 116 people being monitored for any
symptoms of this disease. This is done after a Dallas nurse tested positive for
Ebola. She’s the same nurse who treated the first patient who died of the virus
in the US.
In West Africa, the WHO has already proclaimed an
international health emergency following the death of more than 3,859 people
caused by Ebola virus in Nigeria.
This viral illness will cause initial symptoms of sudden
fever, muscle pain, sore throat and intense weakness. If the symptoms aren’t
treated immediately, they could lead to vomiting and diarrhea. And in some
severe cases, they could cause internal and external bleeding, which may result
in death.
The new health information about Ebola is that the WHO is
now considering it as the deadliest, since it was discovered in 1976.
How Ebola infects human?
Infectious disease experts fear that this deadly virus could
actually mutate causing an airborne disease, which could be transmitted through
cough and sneeze.
But I’m hoping that it won’t come to that.
For now, the disease is transmitted through close contact
with infected animals. When you have direct contact with those animals through
their bodily fluids and contaminated environments, you’ll surely catch the
disease. Funerals of Ebola victims can cause a risk of spreading the disease,
especially if the mourners would come in direct contact with the victim’s body.
New health information - How it’s diagnosed?
It’s still difficult to diagnose the virus. This is because
its symptoms are not specific to this infection. Sometimes, the symptoms can be
mistaken for malaria and typhoid fever.
The diagnostic tests available in detecting the virus will
include antigen-capture ELISA, IgM ELISA, PCR, and virus isolation.
How to avoid it?
You must avoid having direct contact with Ebola patients,
especially their bodily fluids. Thus, you must steer clear of sharing towels.
To fight the virus, you need to wash
your hands or improve your hygiene.
Don’t shake hands or even kiss someone with this virus. In
fact, Liberia’s health minister recommended stopping having sex. Bear in mind
that sexual intercourse may also cause infection to spread through semen, even
the male partner has already recovered from Ebola.
New health information – Is Ebola the new AIDS?
As new cases of Ebola heightened, many experts are now
comparing it with AIDS. Fortunately, Ebola won’t be on the same league as AIDS,
when it comes to infections and deaths. Although the virus has already caused
4,500 deaths in West Africa alone, the number is nothing compared to more than
a million of deaths per year from AIDS on the same continent.
The scariest thing about virus-causing Ebola is that it can
quickly kill the sufferer. In HIV cases, an infected person won’t experience
symptoms for several years. But this makes HIV a more dangerous disease as an
infected person can spread the infection for years without him/her knowing it.
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