Four things to know about Ebola

Ebola has become a topic of concern in the southern part of the continent over the past few weeks due to a scare of a possible outbreak after two individuals were suspected of being infected.

This article serves as information on the Four important things to know about the Ebola Fever which include the origins and nature of the virus, signs and symptoms to look out for, how it is spread, how it is prevented and what measures are in place within the healthcare system to respond to an outbreak.

1.) The Ebola Fever got its name after the virus was first discovered near the Ebola River in Zaire and is said to be caused by a filovirus but it is not clear where the virus originates from. The filovirus can result in four different types of Ebola fevers which include Ebola Zaire which is the most deadly, Ebola Sudan, Ebola Tai and Ebola Reston. Ebola Zaire has over the years resulted in a fatality rate of about 90% of cases and this is due to the manner in which the virus breaks down the bodies defence mechanisms and ultimately damage organs.

2.) The Ebola virus most often displays signs that are similar to those of other fevers but can be distinctly identifiable by an escape of blood from the vessels known as haemorrhaging. After entering the body, the virus stays in the body for about 8-10 days before showing symptoms and early symptoms include headaches, sore throat, a fever, loss of apatite and feeling weak and a lack of energy and enthusiasm. After this stage, the patient would display signs such as having red eyes, chest pains, vomiting, abdominal pains, diarrhoea and a non- itching rash. The virus starts inducing excessive clotting within the vessels and weakens the capillary walls. This results in internal bleeding where blood would fill the surrounding organs and escape the body through any wounds or opening on the bodies tissue, resulting in continuous bleeding even outside the body.

3.) The virus is suspected to be transferred from animals such as Chimpanzees, Gorillas and monkeys to humans through direct physical contact and then spreads from human to human through physical contact, contact with a patients’ blood and bodily fluids. The best way of preventing the spread of the virus is by isolating an infected patient and by caregivers wearing protective clothing such as gloves, a mask and a body suit when treating an infected patient.

4.) To prevent infected people from entering the country and spreading Ebola, measures have been put in place to test visitors from high risk countries for the virus. After Two possible incidences of an outbreak, the cabinet has put an immediate ban on people traveling from high risk countries who intend on coming into South Africa as a means to prevent the virus from entering and spreading in the country. The cabinet has also warned against South African citizens traveling to high risk countries such as Sudan, Liberia and Congo.