Release date: 2014-08-05
Health workers at the Ebola Treatment Center in Sierra Leone
On July 20, the deadly Ebola virus may have landed in Lagos, the capital of Nigeria, the largest city in Africa. The suspected infected person is a male, who came to the city from Liberia a few days ago. The largest Ebola outbreak has been recorded since the record.
The Ebola virus is one of the most lethal viruses ever discovered and there are no effective therapies. The virus is usually spread by blood and other body fluids and spreads quickly, causing Ebola hemorrhagic fever. The initial symptoms of the patient were sudden fever, headache, followed by vomiting, diarrhea, and renal dysfunction, and finally bleeding in and out of the body.
The Lagos case was the first case to be transmitted across the air through the air channel. Recently, countries have taken action against the Ebola virus. The British Foreign Secretary announced that he will host a government meeting on the Ebola virus, with the main purpose of coordinating the actions of various government departments, strengthening prevention and surveillance, and deliberating on emergency measures that should be taken in the event of an outbreak in the UK. Once the virus continues to infect people in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, there will be a greater risk of transmitting the virus over longer distances. But as Nature's Declan Butler explains, the Ebola virus does not pose a global threat.
Should the virus be worried about spreading to the most populous city in Africa?
At this stage, the World Health Organization (WHO) has not issued any travel or trade bans on infected areas. As of July 30, WHO still believes that the Lagos case is a "suspected" infection because it has not been determined that the 40-year-old Liberian has been infected with the Ebola virus. He was quarantined at the airport and taken to the hospital until his death on July 25. Suppose he is infected with the Ebola virus, but if the isolation measures at the airport and hospital are appropriate, the risk of infection of health care workers and others will be reduced.
The European Center for Disease Control (ECDC) believes that people living with public transport with infected people are at very low risk of contracting Ebola. However, in this case, WHO recommends tracking the contacts.
What is the risk of air travellers exporting the virus to other countries?
The ECDC also pointed out that it is unlikely that an infected person will board an aircraft from the location where the disease was originally infected. In addition, functional medical systems can prevent the spread of output cases. Overall, the WHO expects that the current epidemic spreads to countries bordering them with higher risks, and then the sub-regional risks are moderate, but there is little risk of spreading overseas. There is no reason to assume that an output case can ignite a new outbreak because the Ebola virus is not highly contagious.
Is it difficult to get infected with Ebola?
Although in this outbreak, the Ebola strain seems to kill 56% of infected people, the main channel known to be infected with Ebola virus is direct contact with the blood, secretions and other body fluids of infected people. Or contact the body of the infected subject. The incubation period of the Ebola virus ranges from 2 days to 21 days, and so far there has been no confirmed airborne transmission.
In contrast, respiratory pathogens that cause the common cold or flu can enter the air by coughing or sneezing, and can be infected by breathing or touching a contaminated surface such as a door handle. Influenza viruses can spread around the world in days or weeks and may not be able to stop, but the Ebola virus only triggers sporadic local outbreaks and can be extinguished.
Why is the epidemic in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia constantly escalating?
In principle, relying on public health measures – identifying all infected people – for isolation, monitoring all contacts for 21 days, and improving basic infection control measures will likely extinguish the Ebola outbreak. In addition, once a patient infected with Ebola does not infect others until it develops symptoms, it will be easier to track the source than other diseases. The Ebola virus is out of control in these countries and is related to local sociocultural factors.
What kind of social and cultural factors?
International health agencies such as the local health bureau and the WHO, Médecins sans Frontières are struggling to control the spread of the disease in these areas because of the lack of trust and cooperation among infected people. Due to opposition from the villagers, doctors and health workers sometimes have difficulty accessing infected areas. The villagers are worried that doctors will bring the disease into the village. According to WHO data, not all infected people receive or seek treatment, which in turn transmits the virus to family members and other close contacts.
Another major driver of new infections is the traditional burial rituals usually performed by deceased families, including direct physical contact between the mourners and the deceased, which can easily infect the Ebola virus.
Is the current epidemic size extraordinary?
This is the largest outbreak ever recorded. The WHO reported on July 25 that as of July 20, the three countries in West Africa, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, reported a total of 1093 cases of Ebola virus, of which 660 were fatal. The latest data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is 1201 infections and 672 deaths. Previously, Uganda had the largest outbreak in 2000-2001, when 425 people were infected and 224 people died.
The Ebola virus first appeared in 1976, and about 2,000 people died of the virus. In contrast, malaria kills about 3,200 people in one day, and snakes and other toxic animals can kill 55,000 people a year.
Are there drugs and vaccines against Ebola?
There are currently no licensed drugs and vaccines for the treatment of Ebola, although drug candidates are still under development. New therapies will help reduce the high mortality rate of the disease – past outbreaks ranged from 25% to 89%, with an average of about 62%. Jeremy Farrar, president of the UK Wellcome Trust, supports the use of experimental, unapproved drugs in this epidemic. But other scientists believe that distrust of medical personnel has hampered epidemic control, and such measures may be counterproductive because of suspicion.
What do I need to do to control the current epidemic?
Persuade people to believe in health workers and follow public health advice. The government needs to win public trust, recommending that people safely bury the dead and continue to work to track and isolate infected people and other contacts.
Source: Chinese Journal of Science
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