How is Ebola fever transmitted: the symptoms and treatment of fever

Fever of Ebola ... Messages about it for several months are full of Internet, without them there is not a single issue of television news. Just a couple of months ago, it was considered a regional problem, and the doctors assured that beyond Africa this disease would not exactly spread. Meanwhile, at least two US citizens have already contracted the infection. Several more are hospitalized or are at home (under an interdiction to go out into the street). So what is it like fighting with this disease, and how is Ebola fever transmitted? And are the chances of its appearance great in Russia? Employees Rospotrebnadzor claim that the minimum. However, now a special examination is being conducted by students from African countries studying in our country. And travel agencies are obliged to warn Russian tourists going to the "black continent", in which countries the fever of Ebola has already spread.

Virus

The disease is caused by the virus of the same name - the oldest form of life. It is an RNA molecule placed in a special protective shell. This is the so-called filovirus. It penetrates into the cells of the human body and releases its gene material into the cytoplasm. As a result, the cell begins to reproduce the proteins necessary for the virus. They are needed for its reproduction. In most cases, the cell itself is destroyed.

Ebola virus bypasses the body's defense mechanisms . It neutralizes the action of interferon, a substance responsible for combating external threats to the cell.

In general, viruses are amazing and mysterious organisms. They are on the border of the living and the lifeless. After all, they do not have a metabolism, they do not move independently and can function only inside the host cell. Viruses are parasites. Until now, scientists can not come to an unambiguous conclusion about their origin. And yet this is the most numerous kingdom. There are viruses everywhere. For example, in a spoonful of sea water there are about a million of them! In one, scientists agree: these carriers of gene information arose a very, very long time ago. And their role in the evolution of living beings is great. After all, only a person has almost a third of genes similar to the genes of viruses!

Hemorrhagic fever

So scientifically called Ebola. What does this term hide? All such diseases are viral. In general, vascular cells are affected. Hence the abundant bleeding. There are several types of hemorrhagic fevers, and they are all related to different viruses. The latter are transferred either by their natural hosts (reservoirs) or by intermediate living organisms. For haemorrhagic fevers, rodents are often carriers, for example, field mice (for Ebola fever it is volatile, eating fruits).

This type of disease is very dangerous for humans, although some have already created vaccines. Often patients die from the development of an infectious-toxic shock and the failure of all organs. In the case of Ebola fever, too, and from significant blood loss.

Disease history

It is believed that the first case of the disease occurred in 1976. The virus was identified in Zaire (Democratic Republic of the Congo). It happened in the area of the Ebola River. Hence the name. Ebola fever in Sudan then took the lives of one hundred and fifty one person. In Zaire itself, two hundred and eighty died.

It is possible that the locals were infected earlier. The latest study confirmed the presence of antibodies in the blood of seven percent of the population. This means that many have already been ill with this disease.

To date, there have been more than thirty cases of Ebola infection worldwide. Ninety percent of the time it happened on the African continent: nine countries have already suffered there. But some, such as, for example, Tunisia, Ebola fever has bypassed. Twice she contracted both in Russia and both under laboratory conditions: the banal inaccuracy of the employees led to death.

Outbreaks of the disease on a relatively small scale occurred in the UK (1976 - 1 person), the United States (1990 - 4 people) and the Philippines (in 1990 and 2008, a total of seven). Between 2000 and 2001, four hundred and twenty-five people contracted the Sudanese Ebola virus in Uganda. This was the largest outbreak of the disease until 2014. In the latter only in Africa Zairian modifications of the virus already infected more than seven thousand people, half of them died. What is the reason for this increase in the number of cases?

History of the last outbreak

It began in Guinea in late 2013. On December 26, 2013, a two-year-old boy named Emil died, and a week later his three-year-old sister died. And as the first child was infected, it is still unknown. Then their closest relatives began to die. Some are already in the neighboring Sierra Leone and Liberia. Why these countries were not ready? And why, it would seem, the World Health Organization had to recognize the local problem as a global threat? New infections occur every day, and it's already clear how the Ebola fever is transmitted between people, but will it be possible to stop it in the usual way?

Deep causes

Poverty, hunger and poor health in the region, as well as lack of public awareness, are the reasons pointed out by WHO (World Health Organization). But, perhaps, the main thing is human greed. Ebola is a serious and complex disease. But from hemorrhagic fevers vaccines are already being created. But there is still no medicine from Ebola. The thing is that its development requires serious efforts and investment of large funds. And large pharmaceutical companies did not go for it, because the market was too narrow, and the vaccine or medicine would be very expensive. And at a miserable level of income, the inhabitants of those African countries where Ebola fever usually appears, could hardly have bought it. Until a certain stage of the research was carried out in one of the US military institutions, and even then with the goal of protecting themselves from Ebola, if someone were going to use it as a biological weapon. But in a couple of years the project financing was also closed. But now, when it became clear that the fever is not so easy to hide, the developed countries of the world are still involved in the work.

How is it transmitted to man?

Since the disease is paradoxically little studied, one can only guess who is its carrier. Most scientists believe that the natural reservoir of Ebola is one of the species of bats.

The last virus does no harm. These mice eat fruits that they nibble or drop pieces on the ground. And those, in turn, pick up primates, the virus for which is deadly. But no one can accurately say exactly how the Ebola fever passes from animal to animal, the ways of its transfer to the forest are also hardly studied. The latest outbreak of the disease threatens the extinction of the gorilla population in this region of Africa. And how is Ebola fever transmitted to man? It is known that local people often eat meat of forest animals, including the brains of primates. In addition, because of large-scale deforestation, bats began to settle much closer to human habitation. Therefore, the fruits they infected could be picked up or broken by both adults and children.

How is Ebola fever transmitted among people?

Typically, the virus is transmitted through body fluids, such as blood, saliva, mucosal secretions. In addition, you can get infected through sperm. The gateway of the virus is damage to the skin and mucous membranes.

So you can get infected with Ebola only by direct contact with the sick person. To date, the transmission of the virus from person to person by airborne droplets has not been fixed. And yet fever is considered one of the most contagious diseases. Perhaps, because it is also transmitted through objects that people use.

Why are so many people sick?

The main strategy to combat a deadly virus, from which there is no medicine, is the strictest quarantine. The area on which the outbreak occurred was to be completely closed. Obviously, this was not decided at once for ethical reasons. And when the fever spread to several countries, it became almost impossible. Illiteracy of the local population and doctors became the next main reason for the enormous speed of spreading. In the first stages it is difficult to determine whether it is Ebola-fever, the symptoms of which resemble a severe form of influenza or malaria. And only when the patient begins to lose blood, there is a suspicion of hemorrhagic fever. Precise diagnosis of the latter is possible only in a well-equipped laboratory.

In the early days and even weeks of the outbreak, the patients were placed not in separate boxes, but in common tent camps. And there it already spread through not very accurate doctors from one patient to another. The number of infected in this way is simply huge. Only doctors died more than two hundred!

Local flavor

Another factor that influenced the spread of fever is illiteracy and poor awareness of the inhabitants. Only after a few months people began to walk around the villages with loudspeakers and memos, which told the population about the precautions and symptoms of a terrible illness. Meanwhile, a third of all those infected are relatives and friends of those people who contracted it at the very beginning. Here, local customs also played an important role. According to the latter, people gathered for the funeral of their relatives and contracted from the corpses. As with the ablution of the latter. The virus is transmitted from the body of a dead person for another month. Perhaps there are other reasons - the fever of Ebola is rampant to this day.

Outlook outbreaks

WHO says that in the near future, the number of people infected in the region will be stopped. The main thing is how dangerous Ebola fever is - the spread of the virus to other territories. For example, in Tunisia. Ebola fever there has not yet reached, but there, as in neighboring countries, it is already waiting and very afraid. The news of the last days - the US sends two thousand military to fight the disease. How to help cope with the virus soldiers, it is understandable: they are, in all probability, will have to "close" the territory.

Cure for Ebola

The creation of such a vaccine in the near future, according to many scientists, is unlikely. The reason for this lies in the lack of knowledge of the virus, and in the absence of necessary components. It is already clear that the African countries themselves can not create a vaccine. In hospitals, there are not even enough places for all people at the moment. At the same time, the world community takes incredible efforts: funds are allocated, and virologists from around the world are sent to fight a formidable disease.

How is a fever now treated?

It is generally known that in the course of a continuing outbreak, a fatal outcome is possible in fifty percent of cases. Most patients die of symptoms. This is a serious loss of blood, a shock, intoxication of the body and the failure of all organs.

So now, if the diagnosis is Ebola's fever, treatment is basically supportive therapy. The patient is placed in a separate box where an intravenous nutrient solution is administered to him. A person either recovers or dies. According to some reports, experimental medicines sometimes help, but they are not accessible to everyone. A few more words about the latter. Previously, it was forbidden and it was considered unethical to use experimental medications that had not been tested in humans for treatment. In light of recent developments in Africa, WHO already calls this necessary.

Doctors began to transfuse the blood of febrile patients, which in seven cases out of eight gave a positive result. However, these procedures were already in the late stages. And it is not clear yet what caused the recovery: the proteins from the blood of the recovelents or the immunity itself defeated the virus.

Symptoms

The latter appear in the interval from two days to three weeks from the moment of infection of a person with a virus. It is believed that before their onset the disease is not transmitted.

Ebola fever (symptoms) begins abruptly. And the initial manifestations of nonspecific: high fever, weakness, headache, sore throat, diarrhea. Later, there is vomiting and a rash. Dehydration develops, there are pains in the chest. Almost half of the patients develop a rash. Then it is already possible to say with a high probability that this is Ebola fever. These symptoms are specific. Eyes are filled with blood. The function of the kidneys and liver decreases. Begin to bleed mucous membranes: gums, nose, gastrointestinal tract, vagina. The latter indicates a high likelihood of a lethal outcome. Usually patients die in the second week of the disease. If this does not happen between seven and sixteen days, the person recovers. After the disease for a long time, problems with the psyche are possible, people lose weight heavily, hair falls out.

How not to get infected?

To date, Ebola is a fever, the signs of which are probably already known to all inhabitants of the African continent. How can I not get it? Do not visit African countries during outbreaks of a dangerous disease. Do not contact sick people.

In addition, hemorrhagic fever (caused by other viruses, against which there are already vaccines) can be infected in our area. Particular attention must be paid to agricultural workers, because these diseases are carried by field mice. Wash your hands thoroughly after working in the field. Do not eat on the ground and off the ground. And if after work unexpected nonspecific symptoms appeared above (and they are usually similar in all hemorrhagic fevers), immediately consult a doctor.