Recovery from Ebola disease depends on good supportive care and the patient's immune response. Investigational treatments are also increasing overall survival. Those who do recover develop antibodies that can last 10 years, possibly longer.
Liberia was first declared Ebola-free in May 2015. Additional cases were found and treated, and the country was again declared Ebola-free in September 2015.
The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is the world's deadliest to date and the World Health Organization has declared an international health emergency as more than 3,850 people have died of the virus in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria this year.
And because the virus is so dangerous — in some outbreaks, the mortality rate has been as high as 90 percent — researchers must work with the virus in special facilities with high-level safety precautions, which limits the number of experiments that can be done.
Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever, is a rare but severe, often fatal illness in humans. The virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission. The average EVD case fatality rate is around 50%.
Ebolaviruses can survive on dry surfaces, like doorknobs and countertops for several hours; in body fluids like blood, ebolaviruses can survive up to several days at room temperature. Cleaning and disinfection should be performed using a hospital-grade disinfectant.
Symptoms: It can take anywhere from two to 21 days after infection for symptoms to kick in, but once they do, the pain is excruciating. It starts off with a fever, muscle pains, vomiting and diarrhea. It also makes the victims so weak that it leaves them bedridden.
Although Ebola is a threat that is being taken very seriously by public health authorities worldwide, do not let your worry about this disease control your life. There are many simple and effective ways to manage your fears and anxieties.
ERVEBO® (Ebola Zaire Vaccine, Live also known as V920, rVSVΔG-ZEBOV-GP or rVSV-ZEBOV) is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the prevention of disease caused by Ebola virus (EBOV; species Zaire ebolavirus) in individuals 18 years of age and older as a single dose administration.
Ebola can only be spread from one person to another when someone has symptoms. Ebola is not spread through air, food, or water. Ebola is not spread through casual contact. In some circumstances, Ebola may be spread from sick or dead wild animals.
Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a rare, severe and often fatal illness that occurs almost exclusively in some countries in east, central and west Africa. The Ebola virus is not found in Australia.
There is no evidence that the Ebola virus is present in Australian bats or other animals in Australia. There have been no cases of EVD identified in Australia.
Since EVD was first characterized in 1976, there have been 38 country-specific outbreaks, including the outbreak in the DRC. The total estimated EVD deaths from 1976 to 2020 is 15,266. The median number of deaths for all 38 outbreaks is 29 with a range of 0 to 4,809 (Table 1).
1. The Black Death: Bubonic Plague. The Black Death ravaged most of Europe and the Mediterranean from 1346 until 1353.
Ebola case fatality rates have varied from 25% to 90% in past outbreaks. However, with the currently available effective treatment, patients have a significantly higher chance of survival if they are treated early and given supportive care.
Natural reservoir
The natural reservoir for Ebola virus is believed to be fruit bats from the Pteropodidae family.
Practising good hand hygiene and implementing good infection control measures are the most effective way of preventing the spread of Ebola. There is no vaccine for Ebola available for use in Australia.
Where is Ebola most commonly found? Since 1976, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has had the most Ebola outbreaks. Most outbreaks begin in remote areas. Experts theorize that heavy forested areas containing infected fruit bats may be to blame for the multiple outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Ebola virus is a microscopic parasite that replicates inside the cells of a host.
Though Ebola has a high fatality rate when contracted, it is not the thing that keeps most epidemiologists up at night. It could theoretically become pandemic – that is, an out-of-control global epidemic – but experts say that is unlikely.
The Australian Government was initially reluctant to send aid workers to West Africa, but later contracted a private company to staff and manage a treatment centre in Sierra Leone, which treated 91 patients with EVD during 4 months of operation.
It caused major loss of life and socioeconomic disruption in the region, mainly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
8 Mosquitoes are the deadliest insects in the world, but they don't carry Ebola. There have been no reports of mosquitoes or other insects transmitting Ebola virus. Only mammals (for example, humans, bats, monkeys, and apes) have become infected with Ebola virus and spread it.
How Is Ebola Spread From Person to Person? The virus is spread by contact with an infected patient's blood or bodily fluids, including saliva, urine, sweat, feces, vomit or semen.