Ebola Virus — Panic or Real threat?

Ebola epidemic has taken over West Africa with more than 60% of the affected people reported dead. CDC had initially issued a Level 2 alert and has now raised it to Level 3 warning urging people to avoid nonessential travel to the West African nations of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.

Fear has no boundaries and it can spread wilder than the virus. While Ebola is a serious threat to Africa, it can become a nightmare for other continents. It is important for all countries to efficiently tackle the fear and the virus. In a latest development, San Diego based Mapp biopharmaceuticals has identified the wonder serum used to treat two US health professionals infected with the Ebola virus. While the two Americans have shown remarkable improvement with the serum called ZMapp, we are nowhere close to having a treatment for Ebola. The serum is in early stages of research and is unlikely to be available for mass use anytime soon. So what measures are important before the virus actually reaches beyond Africa? Is there a real need to panic and how can you protect yourselves?

Ebola virus is found in wild animals. No one knows exactly how it reaches humans, but butchering or eating the meat of infected animals is a highly likely route. Eating bush meat, or the meat of wild monkeys, bats or rats is common in West Africa. Bush meat is illegally imported in countries outside Africa. Nations serious about controlling the spread of Ebola must put an immediate ban on the import of bush meat.

Once the virus affects a human, it can spread rapidly to other people who come in contact with the infected person’s body fluids such as blood, saliva and sweat. According to the WHO a single drop of sweat from the affected person can spread the virus. Technically speaking if the virus containing body fluid touches the mucosa or broken skin, the virus enters into the person’s body. So travelers coming back to their homeland after international travel can carry the virus and can be potentially contagious. Any traveler who shows the symptoms and signs of the disease like fever, joint pain, and headache with muscle weakness should be put in isolation. If the person has shown the signs of bleeding, necessary blood and platelet products have to be procured for treatment.

However, please remember that Ebola does not spread from person to person via air. You would not acquire Ebola from casual contact with an infected person.  It also does not spread through food or water.

While the state employs the necessary control measures, the general public has an important role to play especially when you have someone coming back from travel. People should be educated about the spread of the virus. A lot of awareness needs to be created through the media. Here are the precautions you can take to protect yourself:

• Avoid eating bush meat
• Avoid travel to affected areas
• Avoid hugging and shaking hands with potentially infected people
• Frequent hand washing ensures better protection against all infections
• Do not lick hands or bite nails
• Wash fruits and vegetables before consuming them

Continue taking these precautions everyday till the local public health authorities confirm the control of the virus. Follow up with your doctor for any other personal concerns like rash, red eyes, hiccups, sore throat etc. The prognosis of the disease is not good and the mortality rate is huge during epidemics.