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Ebola

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Ebola

The Ebola Virus Disease was formerly known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever. It belongs to

the virus family Filoviridae (Mononegavirales order). The EVD disease causes acute illness that

becomes fatal if not treated. The hemorrhagic fever present in the virus interferes with the ability

of blood to clot. It has a high morbidity, averaging to 50%. The morbidity results from the

excess bleeding leading to organ damage since EVD attacks the immune system. EVD reflects

the variable symptoms and downplays bleeding as a clinical hallmark (Feldmann, Sprecher, &

Geisbert, 2020, p. 1835). EVD can spread between humans, when one comes in contact with the

body fluid of an infected person. It can also be transmitted from the affected primates to human.

The spread is faster in urban areas compared to rural areas because of the population density in

urban areas. The high population allows an infected person to be in contact with more people

compared to the contact made in rural areas.

Treatment for EVD is present: supportive care that involves rehydration and treatment of

certain specific symptoms for survival improvement, use of Inmazeb and Ebanga antibodies, and

use of vaccines. The use of a single-shot, live-attenuated, and vectored vaccine is used- rVSV-

ZEBOV (Feldmann et al., 2020, p. 1839). The EVD remains endemic and epidemic since its

effect is not felt globally like HIV, but only affects particular regions. The prevention can be

achieved by reducing contact of wildlife with humans. In addition, infected persons or those

individuals having EVD symptoms should be isolated to avoid contact. The medical personnel

attending to affected people need to wear protective gears that will limit them coming in direct

contact with the patients and fluids produced from their systems.
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Reference

Feldmann, H., Sprecher, A., & Geisbert, T. W. (2020). Ebola. New England Journal of

Medicine, 382(19), 1832-1842.