Ebola outbreak is emerging as a major challenge in many countries. I intend to ask others opinion about the threat as it’s time to be educated on its consequences — what does it mean, how does it spread and how we can stay safe?
Ebola virus disease is a viral infection with a high mortality rate, but with a quite inefficient transmission compared with other viruses. The use of measures to avoid direct contact with patient's body fluids are highly effective to avoid transmission: www.who.int/csr/disease/ebola/faq-ebola/en/
The diagnosis is usually done by genome amplification in suspected cases (the viraemia is high for a number of days) and in ebola contacts (up to 21 days after the suspected date of potential infection)
Early symptoms of Ebola are similar to those of malaria and other tropical diseases, and these symptoms which usually start somewhere between 2 and 21 days includes fatigue, fever, headaches, vomiting, diarrhea and general body pains. Less common symptoms includes sore throat, hiccups, difficulties in breathing and swallowing. The patient may eventually progresses to the bleeding phase characterised by reddening of the eye and the skin, vomiting and coughing out of blood, and bloody stool.
At the moment diagnosis is based on the clinical presentation of the patients. No rapid diagnostic test is available. ELISA and PCR can be use.
more insight in where the virus resides, its susceptibility, effect of heat on the virus, vectors if any for the spread, whether it is airborne or contact transmission or blood transmited, incubation period, window period, susceptible individuals.
you can try co identify one of the very goog reviews on that topics. Why not start with the wikipedia? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebola_virus_disease
Dear Antonio indeed the review was informative, but not very specific.
I could probably get some more information regarding viral survival time. transmission looks to be more or less through contact either cutaneous or sexual or fomite.
any other source which can give me some insight regarding cutaneous manifestations.
Your guidance will be valuable
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