by Katie Clark
Color-enhanced close-up of Ebola virus particles. Credit: Thomas W. Geisbert
Last week, the first case of the Ebola virus was confirmed in the United States, a fact that has no doubt caused concern as the number of fatalities in West Africa continues to rise. In an effort to get a little more educated about the disease and its threat now that it's reached the U.S., DrexelNow looked to Esther Chernak, MD, an infectious disease physician and associate professor in the School of Public Health, to provide some insight.
- The current outbreak of Ebola virus disease in West Africa is unprecedented in scope. There have been over 20 outbreaks in Africa since the virus was first described in 1976, all of which were relatively limited in size. This outbreak is the only one that has spread to multiple countries. Prior outbreaks had been limited and generally affected no more than 500 people.
- Ebola virus is transmitted through contact with the blood or body fluids of an infected person who is symptomatic. People who have been exposed but who are not symptomatic are not contagious. It is not spread through the air, through food or through water. Air travel is an important potential mechanism for the global spread of this disease because people can travel after an exposure to the virus during the long (up to 21 days) incubation period. But because people with the disease are not infectious until they are symptomatic, public information and efforts to screen for fever and symptoms prior to getting on an airplane will keep air travel itself safe for others who are flying.
- There is no specific treatment for Ebola virus, and no vaccine to prevent disease. Spread in communities is stopped by isolating infected people and ensuring that others who have physical contact with them are protected with barriers like gloves and gowns. All of the close contacts of Ebola cases must be identified and their health must be monitored closely for 21 days to ensure that signs of the disease are recognized early so they do not pose a threat to others. The best line of defense is a strong health care system, a strong public health system, and an informed public that understands how it is spread and who is at risk.
- Ebola virus is not likely to spread in Texas, or anywhere else in the United States, including Philadelphia, even if additional travel-related cases occur, which is quite possible. Once it is recognized, the infection control measures necessary to contain it are well understood and readily available in health care facilities in this country. And the public health system here has great capacity to identify contacts of cases and monitor them to prevent transmission.
- The magnitude and severity of the current West African outbreak is the result of a devastating perfect storm: countries with weak health care systems, profound poverty, traditional cultural practices such as the bathing of corpses before burials and touching them during funerals, and a legacy of government distrust after years of civil war, colonialism and corruption. This outbreak is now a humanitarian catastrophe – a slow motion tsunami – with problems above and beyond casualties from Ebola, as health care services and economies unravel.
We are already witnessing a rise in vaccine preventable diseases, complications of pregnancy, and untreated chronic diseases as access to primary medical care disappears. The major industries of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea are suffering and unemployment is now a problem throughout the region. The events in West Africa are a tragic illustration of how investment in public health and health care is an inextricable component of development, and how global disparities in health care resources are both a human rights issue and a threat to global health security.
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© Medical Xpress 2011-2014, Science X network
by Katie Clark
Color-enhanced close-up of Ebola virus particles. Credit: Thomas W. Geisbert
Last week, the first case of the Ebola virus was confirmed in the United States, a fact that has no doubt caused concern as the number of fatalities in West Africa continues to rise. In an effort to get a little more educated about the disease and its threat now that it's reached the U.S., DrexelNow looked to Esther Chernak, MD, an infectious disease physician and associate professor in the School of Public Health, to provide some insight.
- The current outbreak of Ebola virus disease in West Africa is unprecedented in scope. There have been over 20 outbreaks in Africa since the virus was first described in 1976, all of which were relatively limited in size. This outbreak is the only one that has spread to multiple countries. Prior outbreaks had been limited and generally affected no more than 500 people.
- Ebola virus is transmitted through contact with the blood or body fluids of an infected person who is symptomatic. People who have been exposed but who are not symptomatic are not contagious. It is not spread through the air, through food or through water. Air travel is an important potential mechanism for the global spread of this disease because people can travel after an exposure to the virus during the long (up to 21 days) incubation period. But because people with the disease are not infectious until they are symptomatic, public information and efforts to screen for fever and symptoms prior to getting on an airplane will keep air travel itself safe for others who are flying.
- There is no specific treatment for Ebola virus, and no vaccine to prevent disease. Spread in communities is stopped by isolating infected people and ensuring that others who have physical contact with them are protected with barriers like gloves and gowns. All of the close contacts of Ebola cases must be identified and their health must be monitored closely for 21 days to ensure that signs of the disease are recognized early so they do not pose a threat to others. The best line of defense is a strong health care system, a strong public health system, and an informed public that understands how it is spread and who is at risk.
- Ebola virus is not likely to spread in Texas, or anywhere else in the United States, including Philadelphia, even if additional travel-related cases occur, which is quite possible. Once it is recognized, the infection control measures necessary to contain it are well understood and readily available in health care facilities in this country. And the public health system here has great capacity to identify contacts of cases and monitor them to prevent transmission.
- The magnitude and severity of the current West African outbreak is the result of a devastating perfect storm: countries with weak health care systems, profound poverty, traditional cultural practices such as the bathing of corpses before burials and touching them during funerals, and a legacy of government distrust after years of civil war, colonialism and corruption. This outbreak is now a humanitarian catastrophe – a slow motion tsunami – with problems above and beyond casualties from Ebola, as health care services and economies unravel.
We are already witnessing a rise in vaccine preventable diseases, complications of pregnancy, and untreated chronic diseases as access to primary medical care disappears. The major industries of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea are suffering and unemployment is now a problem throughout the region. The events in West Africa are a tragic illustration of how investment in public health and health care is an inextricable component of development, and how global disparities in health care resources are both a human rights issue and a threat to global health security.
Explore further: First case of Ebola diagnosed in US
Medical Xpress on facebook
Related Stories
First case of Ebola diagnosed in US
Sep 30, 2014
The United States has diagnosed its first case of the deadly Ebola virus in a man who became infected in Liberia and traveled to Texas, US health officials said Tuesday.
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Aug 14, 2014
The outbreak of Ebola virus disease that has claimed more than 1,000 lives in West Africa this year poses a serious, ongoing threat to that region: the spread to capital cities and Nigeria—Africa's most ...
Dallas hospital confirms first Ebola case in US
Sep 30, 2014
A patient at a Dallas hospital has tested positive for Ebola, the first case of the disease to be diagnosed in the United States, federal health officials announced Tuesday.
How does Ebola virus spread and can it be stopped?
Aug 06, 2014
As a deadly Ebola outbreak continues in West Africa, health officials are working to calm fears about how the virus spreads, while encouraging those with symptoms to get medical care. Typically, outbreaks ...
Doctor exposed to Ebola treated in US
Sep 29, 2014
An American doctor who was exposed to the Ebola virus in Sierra Leone was admitted Sunday to a clinic of the National Institutes of Health outside Washington.
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10 minutes ago
Preventing infection by the Ebola virus entails simple but rigorously-observed methods of barrier protection and monitoring for signs of ill-health, say experts.
Six die in dengue virus outbreak in southern China
19 minutes ago
The dengue virus has killed six people and infected more than 23,000 in southern China's worst outbreak of the mosquito-transmitted disease in about two decades, officials said Tuesday.
Spanish Ebola case 'should not have happened': experts
30 minutes ago
The first home-grown European case of Ebola, in a Spanish nurse, was avoidable, virologists said Tuesday as the EU demanded answers from Madrid.
EU demands explanation from Spain on Ebola case
50 minutes ago
The EU said Tuesday it has asked Spain to explain how a nurse treating Ebola patients in Madrid contracted the deadly disease, the first known case of transmission outside Africa.
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4 hours ago
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User comments
© Medical Xpress 2011-2014, Science X network
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