The Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) or Ebola Haemorrhagic Fever
(EHF) is not a new disease in sub-Sahara Africa, but it is the latest viral
threat – without known and readily available vaccine(s) or cure – on public
health in West Africa. The first cases of Ebola simultaneously broke out in the
Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan. The former’s outbreak occurred along the
Ebola River hence its name – Ebola Virus.
The Ebola virus belongs to a family of viruses known as the Filoviradae. This family of viruses has
three sub-families or genera which comprise a), b), and c). There are five
species of the Ebolavirus as denoted by I, II, III, IV and V.
1)
Filoviradae
a)
Marburgvirus
b)
Cuevavirus
c)
Ebolavirus
I.
Bundibugyo ebolavirus (BDBV)
II.
Zaire ebolavirus (EBOV)
III.
Reston ebolavirus (RESTV)
IV.
Sudan ebolavirus (SUDV)
V.
Taï Forest ebolavirus (TAFV) formerly Cote d’Ivoire ebolavirus
Since its first outbreak in 1976, all five save Reston
ebolavirus has been implicated in causing human disease. And, the first and
only case in West Africa was reported in Cote d’Ivoire in 1994. The current
species of the West African bane has been identified by the Pasteur Institute,
Lyon, France through polymerase chain reaction and viral sequencing as the
Zaire ebolavirus. EVD has registered a case fatality rate of up to ninety
percent in the past. What does this mean for the lay person? It means that, out
of ten confirmed cases of the disease, nine people have died and only one
person survived. That is the reason why the World Health Organization and
nation governments are very concerned about the virus leaping borders.
West Africa has one of the most porous borders in the world
hence the need for you and me to take personal and collective responsibility in
bringing this disease under control.
The natural reservoir host of ebolaviruses remains unknown. However, on the basis of available evidence and the nature of similar viruses, researchers believe that the virus is zoonotic (animal-borne) with bats being the most likely reservoir. Four of the five subtypes occur in an animal host native to Africa. [CDC, 2014]
The World Health Organization Regional Office in Africa, 2014,
technically defines a suspected case of Ebola as;
“Illness with onset of fever and no response to treatment for usual causes of fever in the area, and at least one of the following signs: bloody diarrhoea, bleeding from gums, bleeding into skin (purpura), bleeding into eyes and urine.”And a confirmed case as;
“A suspected case with laboratory confirmation (positive IgM antibody, positive PCR or viral isolation).”For the complete guideline, please follow this link: http://who.int/csr/resources/publications/ebola/ebola-case-definition-contact-en.pdf
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