What is Ebola Virus?
Ebola Virus causes a febrile illness that causes 50% to 90% of deaths, leading to life-threatening bleeding. This virus is an RNA virus from the family of filoviruses. About 260 people died from the disease during the first epidemic.
How Does Ebola Virus Come Out?
This disease is caused by a microorganism called ebola virus. The Ebola virus has been recognized worldwide since outbreaks in Central Africa in the mid-1970s. The cause of the disease is important because there is no effective drug or vaccine for its treatment and many cases result in death.
How Is Ebola Virus Transmitted?
The origin of the Ebola virus is still undetectable. However, some monkey species are thought to be the main hosts for ebola. Fruit bats are believed to form the natural reservoir of the pathogen. One theory suggests that the virus is transmitted to monkeys, pigs, and some other animals that eat fruit leftovers from bats. The virus is transmitted to humans by contact with animals’ blood and body fluids. It can be transmitted directly from animals to humans as well as from person to person as a result of contact with blood and body fluids. Viruses have been detected in all body fluids you can think of, such as urine, feces, vomit, tears and breast milk. As they are in close contact with patients, an important risk group for infection consists of healthcare professionals. Since there is no cure for the disease, prevention of contamination is essential in prevention. Therefore, sick animals should be quarantined as soon as possible. Dead animals’ bodies must be carefully destroyed. Meat of these animals, especially raw meat, should not be consumed. 5 different Ebola virus groups that cause disease have been identified. Three of these viral groups have caused major outbreaks in humans. Unlike many tropical infections, ebola virus infection has not been detected until now by mosquito bites.
What Are Ebola Symptoms?
The time between the transmission of the virus and the appearance of symptoms varies between 2 and 21 days. Some of the important symptoms that can be seen are headache, common pain in the body, high fever, conjunctivitis in the eyes, bleeding, nausea and skin rashes. In addition, kidney and liver function disorders can be seen. There is a decrease in white blood cells and platelet count in the blood count. Even a few days after the onset of the disease, severe internal and external bleeding can occur, especially from the mucous membranes. All these visible symptoms are not specific to ebola disease, but other serious infections also cause fever, bleeding and organ damage. This makes it difficult for doctors to make an accurate diagnosis initially. In the course of Ebola, insufficiencies develop in various organs of various frequencies. In addition, inflammation of the brain can occur and this worsens the prognosis. Serious cases are similar to septic shock and the mortality rate is high. The cause of death in the disease is usually heart failure.
